Just friends
by Jaskett4Eva
Summary: Two weeks after Red John's latest appearance, Lisbon decides to confront Jane about his "love you" declaration before he shot her. Set after post-season 4 finale. AU and and multi-chapter !
1. A sleepless night

**Author's note **: this is my very first fanfiction that i publish here so please be indulgent lol plus english is not my mother tongue ;)) ok i don't want to get carried away so i'll be very short with this. After seeing the Mentalist season 4 finale everyone seems to ship Jisbon more than ever (including myself) and all the stories i red ended with the both of them in a passionate declaration of love. So i thougt, wait a minut if things were different, if one of the characters didn't reciprocate after one admitted his/her feeling ?

**Chapter 1 (A sleepless night)**

Jane had told her something very painful something that broke her heart in a tiny bit of second. When she finally had found the courage to ask what he'd meant when he said "good luck Teresa" and then a barely audible "love you" he had denied remembering it for sure. After that her sleep had been horrible. When she had spent endless lonely nights wondering what he had meant by those words, she finally decided it was over, she was tired of Jane's little conning games. Even thought her alarm clock was showing 3 o'clock in the morning she didn't mind : she had to know the truth. So she picked up her jacket and car keys from the kitchen table and drove all the way from her apartment to Jane's house in the middle of the night. Outside was very dark and she could barely see the moon shining from the horizon so she had to be careful when she parked her car in front of Jane's house. When she stepped out of her car she realized it had started to rain and regreted not to have bring something as an umbrella to cover herself up. Not that she mind about the rain but thought it wasn't the best situation. But it was too late, from Jane's driveway to his front door the pouring rain had already drenched her. After the usual three knock on the door it suddenly flew open…

"Lisbon is that you ?" Jane said a little confused "it's raining elephants outside don't stay here come in" he said with his usual grin seeming to be happy to see her

"thank you" Lisbon said trying not to shiver to much

"tea ?" Jane said making his way to the kitchen while Lisbon stayed on the entry carpet

"yeah thank you" she said now starting to regret a little her prompt visit "do you have any towels ? I think the rain was pretty harsh on me" she said with a little hesitation

"oh the bathroom first drawer on the left" he said from the kitchen

When Lisbon came back now drying her hair with the towel Jane finally ask

"so what brings you here ?" he asked as he poured her a hot cup of tea and gave it to her

"don't you wanna sit first ?" Lisbon asked shyly and with a smile

Jane sensed something was off with Lisbon but kept it to himself

"okay" he said souding intrigued "you know Lisbon when I said you were translucid I may change my mind about it right about now" he said joking but when he saw she froze he knew that she came here with a serious topic in mind.

A minut of silence went by before Lisbon finally spoke

"so you couldn't sleep hein ?" she asked

Jane knew she was changing subject but he was still following her line of work. On the other hand Lisbon was now having serious second thoughts about her visit

"what makes you think I couldn't sleep ?" Jane asked her sipping his cup of tea

"well you answered the door pretty quickly and you always have trouble sleeping so it all pretty much makes sense" she said smiling enormly out of ordinary

"I think you are projecting my dear" he said "besides you know i can't resist the warming comfort of my beloved couch when it comes to sleep" Jane said with a grin taking another sip of his tea

"projecting ?" she said started to get a little edgy "it what ways I'm I projecting ?" she asked a little offended trying to smile

"well first your assumptions towards me are partially wrong of course I'm an insomniac so I can see you're the one who had trouble sleeping…and second I can tell when something's wrong…so there's not point it denying it" he responded honestly

"fine you win" lisbon said in a defeating tone "I do have not been spleeping vey well lately nothing serious about it besides since when do you care about my sleep ?" she asked with overload of confidence

It was so unlike Lisbon that Jane was surprised himself

"oh c'mon Lisbon you told me you couldn't sleep well for the past six months and I can see now that it hasn't been better since so yeah I might be a little concerned" he said in defense "I told you there was no point in denying it" he said slowly trying to keep the pace of their conversation cool

Lisbon was now trying to take control over the conversation

"speaking of denial" she started a little bit shyly like she did a week ago "why did you lied to me earlier ?" she asked tossing her hair behind her ear

"lie to you about what ?" Jane asked with a huge smile on his face

"about not remembering what you said before you shot me" she said little shy but looking him in the eyes

"oh that" he said with a light grin taking another sip of tea "I wasn't lying to you Lisbon as I said I was kinda hyphed up but whatever I said I'm pretty sure I meant it" he said as he got up to walk off her as he patted her shoulder gently like and old buddy on the way

At this point it took Lisbon all her strength to not let Jane manipulate her once more again and get away with it. She needed closure and she would get it.

"so when you told me you loved me you meant it ?" she asked very slowly pounding each and every word in her mouth which made Jane stop on his way to the kitchen

"wow I actually said that" Jane said looking surprised "well we are friends Lisbon so sure I meant it" he said with his best innocent smile

But deep down Jane knew it will come back to him. He had to admit that he somehow had underestimated her when thinking she will never dare to ask him about that day. He suddenly felt like a complete fool trapped in a fish bucket.

Jane was trying to go in the kitchen but her gentle voice stopped him along the way

"so you meant it in a _friend_ way ?" she asked almost in a whisper now feeling really uncomfortable her eyes almost watery

Even from the darkness of the living room Jane could see that Lisbon was now crying freely and the view made his heart tingle. For some reason seeing Teresa sad made him sad too, after all she was his best friend.

"of course Lisbon" Jane said now getting serious "besides it what other _ways_ could I have possibly meant it ?" he asked looking at her straight in the eye

"I don't know" she said blinking her eyes almost stuttering "maybe in a _lover's_ way" she said looking back at him hopefull

"yeah sure there is that but why would you think I ment it that way ?" he replied

Lisbon wanted to be angry with him. But the sadness and loneliness stopped her from it. Why was he always returning the question to her ? What did he think it was some kind of a game ? She was not an experience for god's sake she was a human beeing with true feelings that should not be played with.

"you know what forget it" she said trying to wipe the flow of tears running down her cheeck "it was a mistake and I shoudn't have come all the way here to ask you…" she said all giddy now standing up from the couch ready to leave

but a hand cough her wrist…

_I know i'm *evil* for ending this so abruptly haha :D but i wanted this story to be original so hope you enjoyed my little experimentation xDD next chapter will give you more explanation and will be almost exclusively from Jane's POV ! hope some of you are looking foward to the next chapter hihi_


	2. A light in the shadows

**Chapter 2 (A light in the shadows)**

Lisbon had finally confronted Jane and admitted her feelings. But as soon as she asked him the burning question in her mind is answer had been far more worse than a month ago and far more worse than she thought ; Jane practically told her they were _just friends_ that he didn't have any romantic feeling towards her. Was it even possible ? In the space of second after her rejection she had felt guilt. Guilt for beeing so blind by her love for Patrick Jane, for this man standing right in front of her. After he had entered her life she always thought, at least hope, that someday after he will get his revenge, that when Red John's day would be over he would finally see her for who she is. But now she realises that he resented her. More than that he hated her for what she was, what she is : the women he met because his familly was killed ten years ago.

Jane couldn't let Lisbon go like that and suddenly felt his stomach ache. His whole world had just been torwn apart in a second. How could that have happen ? Usally he was so good with words but now he had hurt her so bad, his longing friend, his most loyal friend supporting him in the battle of his life. Why had he been so cold when he didn't meant to ? The dizziness was about to kill him and he had to say something.

"I'm sorry Lisbon I didn't meant to hurt you" looking at her intensly and nonchalantly at the same "I just never thought…" but she interrupted him

"you never thought what ? that I'd have feelings for you ?" she asked trying to sweep the tears in her red-rimmed eyes

"not especially" her trailed off looking down like a hurt child but she interrupted him again

"you know what forget it Jane" sadness was still showing on her features "you don't have to bother…I'm leaving" she said

She was still panting heavily from the tears but it was now him who interrupted her

"not until we're clear" he told her putting his hand on the door stopping her from leaving

"excuse me she said" she said now getting frantic

Lisbon was beeing a little scare. If she was beeing paranoid she woud think that Jane had dissapeared in all a second, that his usual self had vanished ; he was a more darker Jane.

"you know what I want Lisbon" he said with an evil grin "I will not stop chasing Red John until i get closure until I see the life leaving his boneless body in agony" he adss even more triumphant

"I know" she said now in defeat "but that's doesn't mean you can't be happy along the way" she said trying to compose herself

Lisbon had now turn away from the door and was facing him again. The glow of light storming out from the window's door was now glimering on her face and reflecting her pale skin wet from crying and her puffy eyes were immensly visible. Jane wanted this to be over yet but he had to do this.

"vengeance doesn't wait for happiness" he said looking at her

"vengeance is not gonna solve anything" she interrupted him

"you're wrong Lisbon" Jane said with a grin "vengeance is gonna give me back my liberty" he said looking at her thoroughly

Just when she had thought she couldn't be more confused Jane had taken her by surprise with his words

"you do have a choice you know ?" she said looking at him

"and what choice do I have ?" he asked looking at her intensly

She looked at him scarily before talking

"you give up…you let go of Red John and move on with your life" she said seriously

"so you want me to admit defeat… you want me to back down and drop off the swords when I'm this close to winning is this what you want ?" he said calmly "look at me Lisbon is that really what you want ?" he asked her looking her straight in the eye

"yes" she hissed closing her eyes in a long awaited relief "but I understand it's not something you can you… I tried you know I really tried to pick up the pieces but we both know that there's no repairing for what Red John did…" she said looking down

Lisbon knew that Jane would hate her for saying it, for finally admitting her disapproval of his goal of vengeance over Red John. But the situation was now different : ten years ago she swore to Jane that if he tried to kill his worst nemesis she would stop him only for her determined sense of justice to be fulfilled. Six months ago she still had the same opinion about her's consultant's quest of vengence. Unfortunatly, at that time she would have gladly killed Red John herself so Patrick Jane could be happy again, maybe get a new start. With all her might she hoped that someday he could see that her intentions hadn't change out of love that if she didn't care about him she would have backed down on him a long time ago. As those thoughts flew her mind more tears ran down her cheecks.

"so I see you haven't change your mind" he said looking at her extremely disappointed

Jane felt like his heart would crush at any moment. Why things had got so complicated in the space of an hour ? His relationship with Teresa Lisbon was just fine as he remembered. No complications. Just friends. But she had to screw all of it. Scew what he took years to build by her stupid crush. This was too much for him to handle.

"please listen to me Jane" she asked almost pleading

"oh I think I've had enough I've already listened to you" he said getting away slowly from her with his hand covering his face as a sign of distance

"you don't understand" she said now trying to approach him gently but he still was backing down

"oh I understand perfectly" he said

Jane was now getting inched close to Lisbon and she could slightly feel his heavy breath on her face.

It took all of Jane's strengh to confront Lisbon. He saw her shaking and he knew if he would continue she would probably have a breakdown. Of course he woudn't reach that point but all he wanted was to taint his image, make her _un-love_ him if that was even possible.

"why are you doing this to me ?" Lisbon asked as new tears ran down her face.

Lisbon almost lost all of her senses and shakily tucked her still wet hair behind her ear.

"I am not doing anything Lisbon" he said with an evil grin "YOU are doing this to youself. Look at you coming all down to my house begging ME to love YOU it's pathetic. Oh saint Teresa always there to save people to redeem their lonely soul" he added in a theatrical way laughing meaningly at her

"now you're just beeing selfish" she told him with all of the strengh left in her with her still watery eyes

Lisbon was too exhausted to be angry. All she wanted is to understand. Why was he beeing so mean to her. There had to be a reason. He couldn't possibly meant what he said.

"you wanna see selfish" he said "you better take a look a closer look at yourself in the mirror…it's not my fault if you had one failed relationship one after another" he told her

Lisbon had tried so hard to stay calm but this was too much

"oh so you're blaming ME for trying to have a stable relationship when the closest bonding you had within the past ten years was with a cocktail waitress from Vegas who on top of it was working hand in hand with Red John" she said as she started to get upset

"EXCUSE ME" he said now yelling "you practically had a men head over heels in love with you who asked you to marry him but you refused. You broke his heart Lisbon. You wanna know why hein ?" he asked with even more contempt

"because I'm too _intense _and _particuliar_" she said sarcastically

"because you have daddy issues. You like it when men treat you bad, when they hurt you real hard it is so much better hein just like daddy when he was drunk. But that's ok saint Teresa is there to fix all of them there's place for everyone join the club…" before he could continue he was interrupted by Lisbon's outburst of rage when she had slapped him in the face

Jane knew it would come soon. And to be honest he had deserved it entirely. At this moment, Jane could see all of the sadness in her eyes, the loneliness, the pain and the fear and also yes the love. Oh yeah she loved him so much it seemed to hurt. But love does hurt he told himself. He had learned that at all costs years ago.

"get out of my house" he told her immediately pointing at the door

"Jane I'm sorry I didn't…" but she was interrupted by Jane who grabed her forearm violently before opening the entry door

"don't ever come back here" he told her before throwing her out of his house "and just so we're clear I hope to never see you again" he told her coldly before he slammed the door in her face

For a brief moment, Teresa Lisbon stood there in front of Jane's closed door. Unable to move, unable to breath. Rain was still pourring violently outside and wet again her almost dried clothes. He had told her he never wanted to see her again. EVER. It hurted. Only after realization hit her, only then, she started crying. Not a baby-cry sobbing with relentless tears but a rivulet of tears flowing down her cheecks. If anyone would have seen her tonight in the dark, they would never expect her to cry. Even god woudn't know. After all who could see tears in the rain.

His plan was machiavellian but couldn't allow anyone to get closer to him anymore. If he wanted to defeat Red John he would be like him. Had to be like him. To be in his shoes and most importantely treat people around him like tools. Jane was about to settle down on the couch for sleep when something caught his attention. Teresa Lisbon was still there in his driveway alley not moving a inch. She looked mortified. He wanted to do something call after her, give her a hug like he had done a week ago but he woudn't allow his feelings ruin him. He couldn't because of Red Jouhn and most importantly for the sake of his family's revenge, for the promise he had made them so long ago. But deep down, in the darkness of his soul he hoped solely that she would understand. Understand why he had done this and why he had break her heart. As he watched her for a while, his eyes got used to the shadows and he could have swear to see her cry. Strangely she had become **a light in the shadows** ; something bright that had wipe away the darkness from him. He only hoped that when his shadow days would be over, when he would be done staring into the abyss with his worst nemesis, she would still light a candle in his heart and keep him alive. As he saw Teresa get away in her car, he closed the lids of his window and sat down on his couch. It's only then that tears started to run down his cheeck. But no one would ever know.


	3. Recollection

**Chapter 3 (Recollection)**

Lisbon stood awake in her bed. She was so tired and exhausted but still couldn't sleep. She wanted to forget what had happened two hours ago to forget what had happened in the past ten years. She even wished she had never met Patrick Jane. She suddenly felt livid. It was way past 5 o'clock in the morning and in only half and hour she had to go to work but still she hadn't sleep a single minut. So she decided to get up put on some clothes and make herself cofee to stir her up. As she sat at her kitchen table the warmth of the hot liquid helped her getting back her senses. Notheless she wanted to cry but the tears woudn't come. She would be brave and go to work. Suck up the awful pain and act as if nothing happened last night. She suddenly tought of her team. What would she tell them, that her consultant wouldn't come to work anymore because he hated her and never wanted to see her again. Surely not. Her cellphone abruptely rang which caused her to startle…

"Hi Lisbon it's Grace we have a case" she said "it's between K Street and the 11th they found a head in the Cathedral's bell we need backup" she said

"people are sick" Lisbon said not caring about Van Pelt's reaction

"yeah I know…" she said not sure what to say "I will pick you up in thirty minuts okay" she asked

"no I will get there on my own" she said "thanks for briefing me" she said a lump in her throat

"besides where's Jane ?" the red-hed asked "I called his cellphone but all I get is his voicemail is everything okay ?" she asked like she senses something's wrong

"yeah everything is fine" Lisbon lied "tell the team I have to talk to them when we get there in the meantime tell Cho he's in charge and start gathering evidence" she said

"ok boss" Van Pelt said cheerfully

"Grace" Lisbon said with an almost husky voice

"yes boss" the young women asked insecure

"thank you" Lisbon added

"no problem" Van Pelt responded almost machinaly not knowing what had happened but saying the only sensible thing she could

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Lisbon parked her car in front of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. As a catholic and faithful believer she always loved church, it made her feel so peaceful. How could something so awful could happen in place of contemplation. Her thoughts immediately went back to the very day Patrick Jane had barged in her favorite church after his six month tribulations away from her and the team. She remembered perfectly the pain and the relief, the love and the hate than the forgiveness. What a better place than a cathedral to offer forgiveness. She didn't know if she could anymore. Maybe he had made her loose faith after all.

She flushed away the thoughts when she saw the sirens and the police cars parked in front of the pavement of the cathedral. The CBI was already there and as soon as she arrived. When she presented her badge a tall dark-haired approched her with a glaring smile, a men whom she had never seen before.

"you must be Agen Lisbon" he told her politely "I'm Jonathan Eyre and I'm the chief local of Sacramento" he adds presenting his hand as he introduced himself

"nice to meet you special agent Eyre" she said shaking the hand he had offered her

"let me lead you to your team" he said as she walked out "my agents will be happy to help you on with the following investigation" he told her with a grin as he led a hand on the small of her back as to guide her to the crime scene

Lisbon found the gesture odd from a men she didn't know and strangely familiar all the same. She then remembered of her consultant doing this gesture numerous times. She then felt sick so she chased the thought right away.

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"Hi boss" Cho said with his usual stoic tone

"Hi Cho" responded Lisbon nonchalentely and the asian man confonded her low tone for tiredness

"the victims is caucasian female the forensics haven't identified her yet…" as Rigsby started to brief Lisbon on the case she interrupted him

The sudden glares at her and gave her a huge lump in her throat. She then took a moment to look at the dim light of the sunset reverberating at the church bells and feel the wind blowing on her face before taking a deep breath and speak.

"I'm sorry but there is something I have to all talk to you about" she started "I know this is not the place nor the time to talk about this but Patrick Jane will no longer be working as a CBI consulltant among our unit" she ended

She heard the light protestation from Van Pelt and saw the look of disapprobation from Rigsby and Cho but ignored them.

"that's it" Rigsby spoke escaping a nervous chuckle

"I would like to give you further explanation but for the moment yeah that's sit" she said trying to contain the sadness bult still her eyes got a bit watery.

"it's about Red John" Cho mumbled with arms crossed and contempt visible on his face

"something along those lines" Lisbon said now a tear runing down her cheeck

She knew her team had seen her sudden outburst of sadness but kept quiet

"I'm not gonna complain" The tall agent spoke hastily

"Wayne" Van Pelt whispered to him and as to rebuke him

"what the guy's a jerk he didn't even say goodbye to us" he defended

"Rigsby's right Jane has give up on us and we will no longer try to help him unless he shows some remorse and promise to no longer put our lives in danger because of Red John…until then he can rot in hell" she said no longer caring if her last statement was unprofessional or not

She was definitly mad at the men but she definitly need to move on with her life and if he wasn't ready then she would not wait for him anymore. She was tired of beeing miserable and would not let him take over her life. Having a change of heart wasn't easy but she was willing to.

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When the team finally got back to the CBI headquarters they continued to work thoroughly on the case. When Teresa Lisbon passed by the bullpen she didn't even look at the poor old brown couch. There was no point since she knew her consultant woudn't be standing there arms crossed behind his head lost in his thoughts.

"Hey boss" Rigsby called as he Lisbon sat at her office's desk.

"forensics got an ID the victim's name is Vanessa Reed. Single. Mid-twenies. Her parents live in Downtown Sacramento said she moved out from home two years ago she now lives on K Street"

"Perfect go check her apartment see if you can find anything" she started "talk to the neighboors see if they saw anything unusal or someone breaking in to her apartment take Cho with you" she finished

"ok boss" closing the door of her office as fast as he had oppened it

The tall agent seemed to want to say something but her death glare stopped him from it. All of the stressed was now releasing from her shoulders. She was alone. It's only then she realized the aching pressure in her skull. The echoing of hard-working agents and lound conversations from upstrairs was pounding in her head like beating drum. She needed a distraction and fast. Something to make her forget all of her pain, the pain of rejection and loneliness. Just as she tought things could go worse, someone violently knocked at her door which make her jump.

A guardian prison cell was standing on her porch

"Are you special agent Senior Teresa Lisbon ?" the cop asked

"Yep that's me" she said in anticipation "what's going on ?"

"it's about Miss Lorelai Martins" the cop said calmly "she has been murdered this morning"

_author : oh I know that's not a funny cliffhanger lol but I know most of you won't mind me for getting rid of this very evil character after all Red John's accomplice never last long so it seemed to make sense ! next chapter will both from Jane and Lisbon's POV…don't get excited to fast I didn't say they were going to reconcilliate that much easy. Btw all of the current locations in this chapter exists if you live in Sacramento you will know what I'm talking about haha :D hope you enjoyed xDD_


	4. Tainted

**Chapter 4 (Tainted)**

"What happened ?" Lisbon asked the cop now breathing heavily

"the janitor found her this morning as he was cleaning" he said

"okay call FBI and tell them it's an emergency" she said trying to stay calm as she saw the guardian prison cell seemed to look at her in surprise

"I already did ma'am the FBI is here" he started "they want to talk to you" he admitted

Lisbon suddenly felt stupid. Of course they wanted to talk to her. The FBI obviously knew what had happened by now. She only was surprised that the CBI hadn't been informed yet. After all they had all they still had jurisdiction on the Red John case file.

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"Agent Lisbon nice to see you" Gale Bertram the chief in charge of the CBI said with his usual contemptuous tone "as you heard our agents here are generously offering their help after this morning's much tragic event about Miss Lorelai Martins sudden death…please take a seat" the men in the suit said

Lisbon took place at a chair place on the other side of the table facing the other agents. They were all familiar to her except from a petite chesnut woman standing next to agent Suzanne Darcy. It didn't take long to know who she was.

"so I believe you already know agent Darcy here, miss Laura Beckham to her right from the California Institution for Women and agent Jonathan Eyre…" Bertram started to name the agent but the dark-haired men interrupted him with a charming smile

"from the Sacramento police station" he finished "miss Lisbon had already the pleasure to make acquaintance with me this morning on the Vanessa Reed case back in Sacramento" he said

The tall chief local policemen then quickly stared back at her with a furtive smile. Lisbon decided Jonathan Eyre was a gentlemen and he was incredibly charming on top of it. Earlier this morning she had noticed it but was still too much shaken to really care. Plus she couldn't miss a chance to see someone interrupt Gale Bertram's infinite babbling. She didn't like him very much and was glad to see she was not the only one.

"fantastic" Bertram said with a hint of sarcasm which Lisbon didn't like "agent Darcy would you informe agent Lisbon about the recent events of this morning please ?" he said looking at her

Now everyone had eyes on her and she seemed a little shy for a second making a nervous smile.

"Thank you sir. As you have been informed Miss Lorelai Martins has been found dead on her prison cell this morning at 5 a.m by one of our many CBI service cleaner. Camera surveillance had been checked out immediately we believe we may have a suspect matching the time slot between miss Lorelai's murder and previously this morning" the red-hair FBI agent said holding a file in her hand as she showed in to Lisbon

Lisbon took the file in her hand and looked at the very blurry photo of what seemed of a men wearing a baseball cap standing in front of Lorelai's cell. Before she spoke agent Darcy continued.

"the FBI haven't identified him yet and we were hoping that the CBI could help us track him down" agent Darcy said

"I thought the CBI had the full jurisdiction on the Red John case file" Lisbon asked looking at agent Darcy who didn't dare to look at her "sir ?" now Lisbon looked at Gale Bertram who did not know what to say

"The FBI has now full jurisdiction over the Red John care file I hope you would understand after the recent fiasco and the tragic lost of one of our best young agent" he said "agent Darcy here had generousely offered to take the lead on this investigation but the FBI is still hoping to have full cooperation from the members of our unit" he said with authority from stopping her to argue.

Lisbon wanted to puke. She wanted to say that this young agant's name so to speak was Luke Wainright. She doubted that this brainless bureaucrat even knew but she kept quiet. Now Jane was out of the picture she decided that letting go of the Red John case was the best thing that could happen to her and her team for that matter.

"yes sir" Lisbon said "I will inform my team" she said as she tried to get away of the office waving a polite goodbye to the other agents

"speaking of your team agent Lisbon" Bertram started as to confront her "were's your very effective CBI consultant ? I was expecting to see him this morning after all Mr. Jane's much personal involvement in the Miss Martins case is no longer a secret " he said with cocky laugh

She could ear the contempt in his voice. Of course he knew that Jane had a relationship with Lorelai, everyone in the building probably knew by now. New travelled fast. She even could tell that Bertram was probably blaming her for what happened. Blaming her for letting happen such unprofessionnal conduct under command. Ten years working Patrick Jane had certainly showed her how to indentify the basic signs of deceptions.

"Jane has taken some time off our unit" she said trying not to look nervous "I'm sure he will be back soon" she said on the edge of the door now

"it's funny since I haven't been informed of this sudden change within the personal" he said almost reprimending her

"sir I will keep you informed about" she said getting out of the office "agents if you will excuse me I have an ongoing investigation and an unit to lead" she finished

Lisbon was happy this very stessful meating was over. Now was the best time to work on the case. Unfortunately, Rigsby hadn't come back with Cho from their trip in Sacramento yet and Van Pelt hadn't found a lead. So instead Lisbon decided to go in her office to do some paperwork. Only five minuts of filling signing forms another knock stormed on her office door. For a second she tought it could have been Jane but she immediately chased the silly thought away from her mind. She stood up and walked to the door. As much to her surprise chief of Sacramento police Jonathan Eyre was standing there in front of her office door. He looked like a lost child and couldn't stop looking behind him.

"Agent Lisbon I would like to talk to you alone" he started "in private if it's possible"

Lisbon glaced at him and contained the blush that was coming on her cheecks

"yeah sure" she said "you can come in my office if you want" she said

When saying it, Lisbon couldn't help but tuck a brand of hair behind her ear. Why had she done that ? Why was she acting all girly all of a sudden ? The men sure had some effect on her.

"I'm afraid this won't do" he said politely half-smiling "I know a little café back down on Sacremento it's not really crowded at this hour of the day" he said as a proposition

"is this about the Vanessa Reed case ?" she asked

"no it's about Red John" he admitted

Lisbon knew that when it camed to Red John she shouldn't trust anyone but curiosity killed the cat. She then got out of her office and grabbed her coat along the away.

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Patrick Jane had wake up late today. After his last encounter with Teresa Lisbon it was close to 5 o'clock in the morning and he had fallen asleep on his couch not long after succumbing to the exhaustion. He was so tired he had slept for nearly twelve hours. When he woke up it was almost 4 p.m. After making a new pot of tea for himself, he decided to watch the news. As he saw agent Darcy it took his curiosity and he decided to listen.

_The reported says that the tragic death of Miss Lorelai Martins, a dangerous convict held at the CBI headquarters also known for her past association with the famous serial killer Red John, remains a total mystery. The Federal Bureau of Investigation now fully in charge of the investigation has a potential suspect and it shoudn't take long before taking him into custody says local source. As for the Red John case file the FBI hopes that they will get an insight into the following investigation. Agent Suzanne Darcy in charge of the FBI is going to give us more information…_

Jane couldn't believe his eyes. Lorelai was dead and he hadn't been informed. This was a nightmare. She was his closest deal to finally catch Red John and now she was no longer. And since when the FBI was leading the Red John case ? After all there was a mole within the law inforcement and this couldn't only mean another step forward for his nemesis. His thoughts immediately wandered toward Lisbon. Of course she hadn't told him. Who was he kidding ? But still he couldn't help but be extremely mad with her. Actually he had hoped to continue his sessions with Red John's little minion in secret despite Lisbon's dissaproval. But now was too late. He had to start all over again from ground zero. He didn't care about his past mistake. Teresa Lisbon was out of his realm of existence. He would not talk to her or for the rest of his miserable life. EVER. He had too much pride for that and she had disappointed him like no one had ever did before. He couldn't care less about what would happen to her. Red John could even rip her head off he woudn't mind if only it would bring him to the men in person.

xxxxxxxxx

The two agents made their way to the little café and decided to sit in a closed booth were no one could ear their conversation. They then decided to order something.

"So what's it gonna be for you for you agent Lisbon ?" he asked her with a smile

"just coffee" she said

"oh c'mon you gotta eat something the eggs here are delicious" he protested "my treat" he add

Lisbon decided the men really had a way to make you comfortable. Someone was finally beeing nice with her and it felt good just enough.

"ok fine" she said with a light smile

As they were ready to order, what seemed like a smutty waitress in her mid-forthies approached their table a notepad in her hand

"so what's it gonna be ?" the small blonde asked them

"two special combo breakfast with bacon and extra eggs for me" he said

"drinks ?" the women asked with a voice that betrayed long years of smoking addiction

"huh a Grand coffe and a cup of tea for me thank you very much" he told her as he gave back their ordering plate

Ten minuts later their plated and beverage we carefully put on their table and they stated to eat copiously.

"so what did you want to talk to me about ?" she said focusing on their main subject

"well first I must say I'm sorry to hear mister Jane is no longer working among your unit" he said looking at the dark-haired agent to pace her reaction

"Patrick Jane has only taken some time off the CBI due to post-traumatic shock" she started keeping up with her previous lie "he will be rehabilitated upon my order" she finished

"we both know that's not true agent" the men said "believe me I have met Mr. Jane before and I can tell you that faking breakdowns has become his favorite past-time since the tragic death of his familly"

"I don't follow you" she said blinking

"since you ask and I believe you do deserve and explanation me and Patrick are very old friends" he started painfully "we were kids when we first met, inseperable but then we grew up and our lived changed. Of course we still kept contact but his life as a con-men got in the way and he became different. More distant. All he could think about was money and fame and then this tragedy happens…oh I tried to help him even thought he didn't asked for my help. At the time I already made chief of the police of Sacramento so I got involved in the Red John case as much as I could you see. Then one day he calls me saying he's feeling better and he got this new job and this was the very last time I heard of him" he said sadly.

"how come he never talked to me about this ?" Lisbon asked in defense

"well not many time after the opening of the case, the police of Sacramento decided that Patrick Jane was one of the prime suspect for the murder of Angela Ruskin Jane and Charlotte Anne Jane" he started "of course they dropped the charges but only due to post-traumatic disorder and temporal lost of memory…so when I said earlier Patrick Jane was familiar with psychosis breakdown you can see the euphemism here" he said with a look of compassion

Lisbon didn't know what to say. She wanted to believe this men, after all he was from the law of inforcement. But he was completely taiting the image of Patrick Jane in a single moment. Like vivacious red on a white wall. And to be honest, she didn't know if she liked it.

"no it's impossible" said Lisbon like her entire world had fallen apart "there must be a mistake" she said looking at the men in front of her

"I'm afraid it is true and since I was the one in charge with the Red John investigation while back believe me the evidence against Patrick were pretty concluding at the time…blood, fingerprints and I pass not to mention his obssesive need to draw these morbid painting faces on the wall…I belive you have met miss Sophia Miller" he said letting run the subtle link in the air "so now you can see why Patrick was sincerly mad at me for letting the doubts of culpability over the murder of his family run upon him" the tall agent said

Lisbon had been off-guard with the agent and his witty charm from the beginning but for the first time she felt very inserure, almost like a prey even though she knew nothing could happen to her in this very place. Red John had enterred her life almost as casually as Patrick had. Since then she felt like her entire didn't belong to her anymore. More than that, he had taken her very soul.

"if you'll excuse me agent Eyre" Lisbon said as her eyes became cold and she rapidly stood up from the table before leaving "it was nice to talk to you but I have to go…me or my team will tell you about any evidence on the Vanessa Reed murder…and thank you for the lunch" she adds coldly

As she hazily past in front the men he tried to take her hand as a gesture of compassion but she quickly removed it like something or someone had burnt her. When she saw the fire in his eyes she could see the hurt. But before she was out of his view he said something to her enough loud so only her could ear.

"if you see Mr. Jane tell him and old friend would be very much pleased to see him" he said

Lisbon could ear the smile in his voice even though her back was facing him

"I will" said Lisbon as she swallowed the huge lump stuck in her throat

But before taking another footstep the agent to reply

"and while you're at it ask Patrick if he still kept contact with his last muse, the one he enjoyed company with before the death of his wife"

From this moment everything went from black to white in Lisbon'mind. Then before she knew it something very sharp pointed at the small of her back. It's only then she realized her mistake and her pupils dilated in anticipation. But it was too late…

_Author's note : i know it was the worst cliffhanger in the history but what do you want i like to keep the readers at the edger of their seat. I hope you all liked this chapter it was very entertaining to write indead. Next chapter will be a very dark one and we will see about Red John, how he works and what he is about (then again i got inspired by our beloved Bruno Heller's insight on what to expect to see in The Mentalist season 5) hehe :D and i promise this time we will see alot about Jane after all now that Lisbon is really in danger he may change his mind xDD don't forget to comment always appreciated ;PP_


	5. Red Ministrations

**Chapter 5 (Red Ministrations)**

It has been a hot humid summer day and it was now almost to it's end. Cho and Rigsby had finally come back to the CBI after gathering the few evidences and testimonies they could get. Cho first enterred the bullpen and Van Pelt made a slow smile to the two agents as a sign of welcoming.

"Hey, have you seen boss ?" Cho immediately said

"She went out for lunch or something" the tall red-haired women said hesitant "it's weird though It's had been almost two hours…" she trailed off

"did you called her cellphonoe ?" Cho asked

"yeah and it goes directly to voicemail" she said

"Maybe she was with someone" Rigsby finnally said as he took a big bite at his ham sandwich

The two other agents looked at him as if considering his affirmation

"I'll check her office see if she's there" Cho said before turning his foot towards their boss's office

Van Pelt and Rigsby then exchanged a sympathizing look

The asian agent oppened the door of her office and when he saw she wasn't there decided to go to all of the other places he knew of she could be : the cafeteria, the conference room, the interrogation room. He even went to Jane's attic but Teresa Lisbon was nowhere to be found.

"She's not here and she didn't have time to finished her signing forms" Cho said seriously with a very concerned look on his face

"Boss never leaves her office before finishing paperwork" Rigsby insghtfully said now starting to worry

"yeah I know it's not like her" Cho said lost in his thoughts

"you think something has happened to her ?" Van Pelt asked with a questionning and scared look on her face

Cho seemed pensive before he finally spoke

"I'm sure it's nothing she'll be back" Cho said to her in an overbearing tone arms crossed "Rigsby stay with Grace I need you to run this" Cho said as he gave Rigsby as small flask with a liquid in it

"I'll send it to toxicology" he replied

"Grace you stay here it want you to do a background check on Ryan Perry. Lives in San Francisco. I need you to get his adress. If Lisbon comes back you call me" he said

"he lives at 75 Brannan St" Grace said "I hope she's alright thought" Van Pelt said speaking of Lisbon

"yeah me too" Cho sighed "thanks" he said and was heading to the elevator

As Rigsby and Cho were heading for the elevator doors they heard Grace say something that caught their attention

"Guys wait, I just received an e-mail" she said eyebrows knit "it's from Lisbon, there's a video link attached to it" Grace as she pressed the buttons of her computer keyboard

As soon as she oppened the video, she immediately thought it was a prank. Someone had send her a link of what seemed a blonde women attached to a chair. Tied up and horrified. It's only when she recognized who the women was that a shadow passed by the camera and a men violently cutted the women's throat. Vanessa Reed, the women who they had found the head in the Cathedral of Blessed Sacraments had been murdered in front of her and someone had sent her a video of it. She escaped a muffled scream and tried in vain to stop the flow of insanity she had witnessed.

"What is it Grace ?" said Rigsby with a look as he ran to her "are you alright ?" he added

"it's…it's Vanessa Reed" Grace said "someone send me a video of her murder" she adds trying to compose herself

"you okay ?" the dark-haired agent asked

"yeah…I'm almost used to it by now" she lied "I receive those kind of video everyday thought it was a fake thought" she said with a sad smile trying to reassure Rigsby who seemed extremely concerned of her state of emotion

"I don't get it…why was it attached to Lisbon's name ?" Rigsby asked to himself "must be some kind of a freak" he adds with contempt and fury

"I just received another one" she said "don't worry I'm fine" she said to calm Ribgby who was staring warily at her

Grace pushed the click play button but whatever she thought she would see there, she sure was not prepare for it. Teresa Lisbon was sitting on a chair and tied up facing a camera. The video was exactly like the previous one, except for a message was playing

_Hi everyone it's been a while. You may wonder why I have captured your lovely friend. You have something I want and I intend very much to take back what's part of my property. As you may know Miss Lorelai Martins could no longer be left at you mercy without giving you much very usufal information. I did what I had to do I'm afraid. I heard Mr. Jane had left the circus recently but unfortenately I can't allow that. Quitting is not an option you see and to be honest I started to get bored at my own game. The rules are simple, if you want Teresa Lisbon to get safe and sound under my hold, Patrick Jane needs to be brought to me. Alive of course. Threaten him, force him I don't care. Consider it as an exchange. Mr. Jane do as I wish she lived, he refuses she dies. It is Mr. Jane's last chance to reedem himself, the ultimate sacrifice so to speak (chuckle). To bad Patrick and Teresa didn't leave in good term last time they met. I'm sure you'll all find a way. Oh before I forget I thought you should know miss Vanessa Reid deserved what she got. I guess breaking a very happy familly is not forgivable. See you all soon I hope._

The team couldn't believe what they had just heard. Their boss had been kidnapped and could very much die and suffer from a very painfull and long agony. At this point they all knew that this was the work of Red John himself. More than that, they knew that the women they had found dead the very same morning was somehow connected to him.

Van Pelt was now crying heavily and Wayne was trying to console her. Cho was pacing the entire room like for the first time in his life he didn't know what to do. He then finally decided to talk

"Rigsby contact FBI immediately" he said trying to compose the need to explose

Wayne finally let go of Grace's hand and she looked to him beging him to not leave with her eyes.

"I'll go talk to Jane we need him here ASAP" Cho said looking at the others who now seemed in ruin

"no-leeet-mmeee-taalk t-o-t-oo him-iim" Grace said through sobbing and she now had incredible trouble breathing

"NO" Cho said affirmative "you're in shock you stay here and see what is the link beetween Jane and Reed…see if you find something"

"pl-eaaa-see. He'lll lisss-ten-enn too-o me-ee" she said still panting heavily

"okay" Cho said in defeat

xxxxxxxxxx

Lisbon had lost notion all notion of time. The last thing she remembered was sitting at the table at Chicory Café on K Street with agent Eyre and the rest was a total black out. What had happened to her ? She didn't know where she was and even less for how long she had been there. Her legs felt numb and her arms as well. For some reason a small portion of her arm was itching and hurting as well. When she tried to look she saw it and her blood pressure was immediately rising. What looked like a huge needle had been inserted in her forearm and was surrounded by painfull bruises. She ten knew she had been drugged. Suddenly she heard footstep coming and what seemed like the cliking sound of a trailer or maybe wheels squealing. On instinct she tried to reach for her gun but was sent back to the harsh reality. She was tied up from head to toe and couldn't move a inch, plus her gun had dissapeared. Whoever brought her here took it from her for sure. The door then suddenly flew open. A cold shiver ran down her spine when she saw someone coverred with a long dark gown and a mask on his face. Goosebumps flew on her body and she was now clenching her teeth and her fist as well. She now knew what was happening.

"Hi Teresa" a funny and creepy voice told her "you know who I am don't you ?" he adds

"are you…" Lisbon said with a weak voice but the men interrupted her

"yes I'm Red John nice to finally meet you"

"what…what do you want from me ?" she said

"nothing" he said camly "on the other hand I can't say the same about your friend Patrick" he said

Red John perfectly see Lisbon had thought of the worse and it had probably crossed her mind the he could have captured him as well

"what have you done to him ?" she asked panicked

"oh don't worry Patrick is safe. If I were you I would much rather worry about myself."

Red John then approched her as he pushed what was a rusty cart with a plate on it. In the middle of the plate laid a large needle. Red John bruskly gripped Lisbon's arm.

"SON OF A BITCH DON'T TOUCH ME" Lisbon yelled her lungs out strugglin for her life

"if I were you I would try to stay calm" he said with a cold voice "heroin and high blood pressure is not a good combination I'm afraid. I also don't need to say administrations like that can be leathal when not taken with precaution. Now Patrick would not be happy to see you fall in an endless coma don't you think ?" he said with a malicious smile

"go to…" Lisbon said

But before she could speak Red John had injected her a very high dose of drug. In a second she felt her mind leaving her body and her breath became very still like her whole system was on stand-by. Her state was close to euphoria and before she knew she fell into a deep sleep and her head dropped violently forward.

xxxxxxxxxx

it was almost 7 p.m when someone knocked at Jane's door. He wondered who could it be at this hour of the night. When he open it, Grace Van Pelt was standing in front of him. When she saw Jane she thought he looked miserable. His hair was tussled and crassy, his beard had not been shaved for what seemed at least two weeks and from his three-piece suit he was only wearing his open-v shrit. Plus from where she was standing she could smell his alcoolic breath. She instantly felt pity for him.

"We need to talk" she said trying to hide her shaking hands

But still Jane had seen her obvious critic state. It didn't stopped him from beeing arrogant

"I have nothing to say to you" Jane said as he tried to close the door to the red-hair women but Grace blocked it

"it's about Lisbon" she said going straight to the point "Red John has her" she said her voice trembling like leaf

"WHAT ?" Jane said with all signs of distress visible on his face

"we need your help" she said

It didn't take long for Jane to compose himself. He had become a master at hiding his feelings.

"well I'm sure you'll get her out alive without me" he said with an evil-smile "Lisbon wanted me out. She wanted me to give up on revenge, well this is me beeing passive" he said sarcastically

Grace wanted to stay calm but she knew mellow words woudn't work with Patrick Jane he needed to be shaken up a little so she took all of her strength and said what she had on the palm of her heart

"you're a jerk" she yelled "if you don't sacrifice yourself for her she's gonna die. You're just gonna sit there, tease Red John and let him kill her without moving a finger hein ? Just like you did with you family" she said provoking him to the maximum

"don't you dare talking about my family like that" he said with an acusing finger

"yeah well it's about time someone does. Even her woudn't dare because she lo-…" she started but stopped halfway knowing it would be too painful to mention "because she cares about you. We all do Jane. After all she had done for you, cleaning up you're stupid mess, forgiving all you're little conning games. For once in you're life you have the chance to show someone you not only care for yourself. You know she's worth it. If you don't do this for us do it for her. Ask youself this, if you were the one who's life was in danger, you think she would hesitate only a second to risk her life for your own. So what's it gonna be ? You do as you want but if you let her die don't count on us to help you suck out the guilt" she said with all of her strengh then she left with a glare that said it all

Those were the last words Grace said before she would crash down on the pavement of Jane's house. Her head was fuzzy and she couldn't stand his sight anymore so she turned abruptly and went straight back to her black SUV. She then took a quick look at Jane's front door to see it close halfway. Just when she thought he had returned to his lazy life like nothing had happned she saw him get out of his house. He had put his blue coat on and locked his door house. He had chase after her and was now heading to the passenger seat of her car.

"shall we" he said with his a look like said - I'm sorry let me make this up to you.

Before getting in the SUV, Grace heard her cellphone rigning and responded

"Grace" a panicked voice said "it's Rigsby is Jane with you" he asked panting heavily at the other hand of the phone

"yeah he's in the car why ?" she asked a little concerned

"it's about Vanessa Reid" he gulped "her and Jane had an affair"


	6. Long Way to go

**Author's note : **after most recent reviews I had the feeling I had to make some things clear. First as I said in chapter one, english is NOT my mother tongue. I speak french. But I don't like to write in my own language don't ask me why lol. So I already apologize for the grammatical mistakes and and slip of words, but you all should know that this information is now mentionned on my profile page =) Second I had a very busy weekend and didn't have time to update my story on a daily basis like I usually do. I hope that this chapter will help some of you understand where I'm going with this. So I guess that's it…don't forget to comment and rate but try to be respectful I'm a very sensible little creature just like you lol xDD love you all and thanks for reading ;))

**Chapter 6 (Long way to go)**

Grace was sitting at the edge of her phone. She couldn't believe her ears what she had just heard. She didn't know what to think. All she knew Patrick Jane had some serious explanations to give to the team. After all the trouble he caused them that was the least he could do.

"are we going now ?" Jane asked from inside the car fidgeting like a ten year old child

"yeah" Grace hummed almost to herself as she closed back the door of the SUV

Almost the entire road from Jane's house to the CBI was silent when Van Pelt finally broke the silence.

"so why did you quit ?" the red-hair agent asked

"Lisbon didn't tell you" he responded with a malicious smile and chuckled to himself

"don't ask me" she said in a defense tone still angry with his behaviour "she just said you quit that's all"

"well I think you should ask her it's an interresting story actually" he responded sarcastically

"what you can't tell yourself ?" she said offended

"well I could but I'm not sure Lisbon would appreciate it" he said

"pffn…see if she cares" she said almost whispering

"that's not a nice thing to say" Jane responded like Grace was beeing childish

"well believe it or not you have a lot to explain to us" she said "and just so you know Red John has taken out you're little girlfriend" now trying to be mean

"I already know that" he said trying to hide his urge to show pain and sadness "how could I not know ? he said it was all over the news for christ sake" he said

"I was not talking about Lorelai" Grace said viciously

"I have no idea what you're talking about" said Jane confused

"yeah right" she said sarcastically

"watch the road" he told her as she was slightly drifting from the road

Jane had no idea what Grace was talking about. Plus she acted so strange, he almost didn't recognize her. It bothered him not to understand since he was always the smartest one in the room.

xxxxxxxxx

When Jane and Grace arrived to the CBI, many FBI cars were parked in front of it. In the space of an hour the security system at their office had been reinforced and the consultant and agent had to go through a human scanner before reaching the gate of the entry door.

Before Jane and Grace reached the elevator they were greated by a very uncomfortable chief of the CBI

"Mr. Jane I didn't expected to see you here" the men said

"Well it's least thing I can do" he said with a false smile as if trying to be polite

Grace laughed at the irony

"well our unit is very glad to you have you are here" he said "you made the right choice more help to catch Red John is never refused" he lied

Jane knew Gale Bertram was not very found of him. He couldn't blame him. He was not very appreciative of the men in front of him either. But Jane closed cases and only for that the chief of CBI couldn't fire him, even after the last fail attempt at catching Red John. Jane simply nodded with what seemed annoyment. His only goal was to catch Red John and save Lisbon along the way. Now he was back in the game he woudn't spoil it with his arrogance. Grace senses the mentalist's sudden impatience and decided to say something

"if you'll excuse us we need to go back upstairs" she said meaning that they wanted to go back to the team's work office

"oh yeah of course" agent Bertram said "I'm sure you have all plenty to talk about I won't hold you more longer. Agent Van Pelt, Jane" he said before taking up the stairs

xxxxxxxxx

_Lisbon saw Red John's body dropping and pounding on the floor. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't see so well. But what seemed of a blonde men was standing next to the lifeless body of the serial killer._

"_Jane is that you ?" Lisbon said_

"_yes it is me" he said in a very calm tone "don't worry"_

_He was wearing an impeccable white three-piece suit and approached her with one hand behind his back_

"_oh I'm so glad to see you Jane" she said "you woudn't believe the things Red John has done to me Jane. If –if you woudn't had come fast or if anything had happened to you…I…I" she started now tears running down her cheeck but Jane silenced her_

_Now Jane had gotten close to her and he had knit in front of her and held her hand_

"_shut, shut, shut Lisbon" he silenced her with his finger "everything is alright now that I'm here you don't have to be scared" he said with a malicious smile and runing a sensual hand thought her hair which sent shivers through her body._

_Lisbon sensed that the situation was pretty odd. Jane seemed incredibly calmed for a men who had just confronted Red John and killed him._

"_does this hurt ?" he asked her_

_She gave him a look of confusion but immediately knew what he meant when she looked at his gaze wondering on her left arm and saw the bloody spot._

"_like hell" she said looking at him her gree-emerald eyes watery_

"_don't worry" he said looking at her with his light blue eyes "I will take the pain away…you won't suffer anymore dear" he said to her with warm and tender eyes and his usual smile_

_In a second she thought this was over that Jane had come to rescue her until she saw it. The sharpy blaze hid behind his back and suddenly realization hit her. One hand on her forehead, Jane deeply plonged the knife in her lower abdomen in one single violent stroke. _

The impact of the stabbing woke her up. She was sweeting immensly and she was glad it was just a dream. More like a nightmare. She then immediately remembered where she was and all her enthusiasm drifted away. He head was fuzzy and she felt extremely dizzy. The aching pressure in her arm had now doubled in intensity and she couldn't remember half of what had happened in the past 24 hours. Lisbon's dream was her most recent memory and it had almost felt real. It only turned out to be a mixing pot of all of her emotions right now. At first, Lisbon knew Jane woudn't come to save her. She knew he would never hurt her himself, but he desire to be relieved of her pain and the one to be rescued by the one she had loved for so long both got tangled in an unlikely twist. It was the only explanation she got. If anyone was going to get her out of here, it was her team. Her three loyal and devoted agents would shake earth and ground to save her from the gates of hell. She sighed if only her team would come fast…

xxxxxxxxx

Jane slowly enterred the bullpen with Grace alongside with him. He wasn't sure how to act or what to say to the team. He had the strange feeling of nostalgy. And at the same he felt like he didn't belong there anymore. When he approached his old brown couch the first thing he saw was Cho and Rigsby looking at the computer screen. When they saw Jane arrive they both stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

"Jane" said Cho with a planotic tone

"Cho" responded Jane

Jane didn't know if the asian agent was mad at him. He only knew he was more than able to stay professionnal so he was probably just beeing himself. Even as a mastermind reader, Jane always find it hard to read any sign of emotion coming from somone that stoical. He still thought he would not provoke him just in case. While the two men discussed, Rigsby was looking through info at the computer and Grace had gone into Lisbon's office with hope of finding where she went before she dissapeared.

"Red John send us a video of Lisbon" Rigsby said

"is she alright ?" Jane immediately asked

"yeah she's fine" Cho resplied

"for now" Jane said "I'm sorry he said…I would like to see it please" Jane asked

"yeah sure" Cho said letting him take look at the computer in front of him

When Jane saw Lisbon on the screen, her arms tighten by ropes, her disheveled hair and her abnormally pale skin he wanted to scream in horror. Guilt was biting him and he had to hold unto the desk not to hit his fist into something. Then he saw it in the corner of the video. The footage was a little cut off and he couldn't get a clear and full view. But from what he saw, Lisbon's arm seemed badly damaged.

"can you zoom it in the left corner ?" Jane asked Rigsby who was still sitting at the computer

"yeah sure" Ribsby said "what do you think it is ?" he asked

"I'm not sure" Jane said gulping

When they both saw what looked like huge bruises on her arm they automatically knew what it meant. Rigsby then looked at Jane and seemed to fear his reaction. The mentalist couldn't control his emotion this time. So he picked up the first thing he could get next to him and thew it on the floor. He had thrown up his favorite cup of tea and it had splashed on the floor in thousand pieces.

"What is going on ?" said Grace who had come all the way from Lisbon' office

"Jane broke something" Cho said

"we'll find her I promise" she said trying to calm him down

Jane was pacing the entire floor and he didn't seemed to know what to say. Neither did the rest of the team. Anger filled him and all he could think about was HER. He didn't know what he would do if Red John killed Lisbon because he failed. He would probably die of pain. Just when his world was about to crash down Cho called him.

"it's Red John" Cho said "he wants to talk to you"

xxxxxxxxx

Jane approached the computer screen with precaution. The screen was still blank and in dark-red letters was written "do you wanna play ?" attached to his name. Jane then sit slowly on the computer chair and took a deep breath before he clicked the play button. When he finally clicked what seemed as a window application flew open. Almost immediately Jane saw the blinking red light of the web cam coming to life. A shadow passed to the screen and adjusted the camera before sitting. It was Red John. No doubt about it. Jane recognized his nemesis because he was wearing the same black gown and wearing the same ugly and creepy mask he did three years ago when he had meet him for the first time.

"Hi Patrick" said the same creepy voice that had hunted him in his sleep "it's been a while…last time I saw you things didn't go quite as expected. But I still hope you will make the right choice this time" he said

"what choice ?" Jane said panting heavily

"oh Patrick I have reserved you a special little game…just for you" he said with a sadistic excitement in his voice "I am pretty sure you will enjoy"

"what are the rules ?" Jane asked

"it is pretty simple…your life in exchange of Teresa Lisbon's safety. If you do as I say she will get out here alive. If not, I'm afraid I will not be able to guarantee you what I'll do to her if you know what I mean" he trailed like he was thinking of all the things he could do to Teresa Lisbon and make her suffer

"is that all ?" Jane asked

"well of course before you deliver yourself to me there are a couple of things I wish you to do for me" Red John teased

"hum, interresting go on" Jane said trying to look peaceful

"now that's the spirit" Red John said with mockery "I want you to destroy all of the files about me that has been gathered at the CBI. That shoudn't be a problem since you started off burning some of them recently. I must admit Patrick I was impressed by your actions. Your familly would be proud" he said teasing him

Jane did all he could to not flinched at the last comment

"simple as that" he said

"I'm afraid so" he said sadly "but I warn you Patrick if you try in any way to trick me or to fool me she dies. You talk to the FBI about it she dies. If you follow every of my command I will free her and on exchange of your life of course. I always honor my contract" he said honestly

"how do I find you ?" Jane said with a hint of curiosity in his eyes

"I will contact you eventually. You have one hour to burn all of the files before I cut your friend lovely's throat. And remember if you fail or copy them I will know. You see I have very ressourceful friends at work for me and very loyal" he said with a hint superiority

"you mean tools" Jane said expecting a reaction

"it is pretty much all the same isn't it ?" Red John replied with sarcasm "I'm sure you would rather much understand" he replied

Jane knew exactly what Red John was talking about and he instinctively clenched his fist. Red John was insinuating that all of his colleague and especially Lisbon were only tools to him. But he was wrong. Of course he was mad at Lisbon and it even crossed his mind that if his nemesis had kidnapped her or even killed her it would led Jane to him. But now that is had happened, that fiction had become reality, he deeply regreted his thoughts. Lisbon was help captive by Red John and it was his fault. All of his. Only because he wanted to keep her away from him. To keep her away from Red John but by doing so the worst happened. He always thought he couldn't save Lisbon from his nemesis but he was wrong. Lisbon was a figther but because he was gone and because he had make her feel unworthy of his friendship, of his love, she let her guards down. It was probably the worst day of his life after the death of his familly. He only wished he could go back. He would never learn from his mistakes he thought. He wanted to let the tears come down, let them burn his cheek like he had done previously when he saw Lisbon cry alone in the rain. But he couldn't. He had to be strong, for her. He would be a fearless in front of Red John and would be a soldier for Lisbon. He would play the game until the end.

"oh and before I forget Patrick I send you a gift which I think you would rather much appreciate…you don't need to thank me" he said flattering himself

"what kind of gift ?" Jane asked playing his adversary's game

"your friends didn't tell you ?" Red John replied with mockery

Jane didn't respond at that. He knew it would only make Red John to happy to see Jane could have second thought about his colleagues.

"I'm afraid not" he said trying to look casual

"Vanessa Reid's dead body is waiting for you at the morgue. I made sure she stayed in place so you can have the chance to say goodbye. That is much of a friend I am" he said calmly "and I took the liberty to dispose of her head something she didn't rather much needed" Red John said casually as if it was the most natural thing in the world

Jane couldn't believe his eyes. Red John had killed somone for him again. He wanted to puke, at the thought of this poor women innocently killed. Something still irked him. Why was this women's name so familiar ?

"is this some kind of a joke ?" Jane asked with a nervous chuckle trying to look normal

"now I am very disapointed Patrick. I at least thought you would remember the name of the women you shared your night with when I killed you lovely wife and daughter" he said

At this very second Patrick Jane new he now had the upper hand and he would use it gladly. For the first time, Red John made a mistake and not a small one. He immediately understood why Grace had been so merciless with him ; she thought he had an affair with Vanessa Reid. And so did Red John. Something wrong they both had in common. That was the only explanation he had. He needed to find out immediately what led them to believe something so utterly mistaken. Maybe Grace was right after all, he did need to have a serious conversation with the team if he wanted to keep them as his friends and his new family. And most importantly if he wanted to save Teresa Lisbon in time.

_I decided all and for once to not end this chapter with a cliffhanger ! you don't have to thank me lol I hope you enjoyed this one. I tried to be a little less OCC this time and brought back our good old light-hearted Grace and our devoted Patrick Jane especially when it comes to Lisbon hihi :D *SPOILER ALERT* next chapter Red John's identity will be revealed. The end of the story will probably end in two chapters maybe three. It depends on how inspired I feel. Anyways thanks for reading and have yourselves a nice week xDD_


	7. The Devil's Mark

**Chapter 7 (The Devil's Mark)**

Red John's last words to Jane had been those of a threat. When Jane asked Red John to see Lisbon, his nemesis let out a chuckle before he turned off the camera.

"What are you gonna do ?" Grace asked to Jane in shock

"I will do exactly what he wants me to do" Jane said looking at her straight in the eye than shifting his look to the rest of the team "I have no choice" he adds

"What about the files ?" Cho asked

"I will take care of that myself…in the meantime I want you all to find anything you can where she was and if anyone saw her" he said seriously "oh and before I forget, I did not have an affair with Vanessa Reid." he said

They gave him a stunned look

"Well Red John seems to think otherwise" Rigsby said while escaping a nervous chuckle

"well he is wrong. Ten years ago Vanessa Reid had serious problems and I helped her with her drinking problem, nothing more. As for the night that my familly had been murdered I told you the truth. But what I did not tell you is that Vanessa came to me that night and was seriously relapsing so I gave her a ride home and stayed for a while. When she fell asleep I went back to my house….and you know the rest" Jane trailed off while waving his hands up in the air as a sign of promise

"we believe you" Cho said looking at Jane "did you find anything Grace ?" Cho asked the red-hair women as he notice the paper note in her hands

"yeah I found a note from Lisbon's office. It says she went to have lunch with someone but it doesn't say where. I will try to talk to someone in the office if they have seen her" she said with hope and wrinkling her nose

Before Van Pelt left Jane's voice stopped her from going. He gathered all of his strengh to say to them what he had meant for a long time.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving and let you worried, sorry for the things I made you do and most importantly I'm sorry for lying to you guys. I should have told you about this a long time ago" he said

He was looking at a very emotional Grace in the end.

"it's okay Jane we're glad you're back" she said now he was looking at her before turning her back and leave

"yeah thanks for you're honestly man" Rigsby said with a sad smile

Jane them left the bullpen and took the elevator. He was determined to burn all of the Red John files, a part of his past. He owed it to his the team. But most importantly he owed it to the one women who believed in him all those years, the one who hold his heart, Teresa Lisbon. He knew he would probably not get out alive of his journey with Red John but at least she would be safe and that's all that mattered to him now. Nothing more.

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Despite all of the exhaustion and all of her weakness due to lack of food and proper hydration, Lisbon was fully determined to find a way out. If only she had something that could help her get out of her ropes. It was the hardest thing to loosen up such perfect knots. As she was trying to think of her escape, the door of her cell suddenly oppened once more. It was Red John again. He had brought the same rusty cart. On it lay a plate with a really modest ham sandwich and a bottle of water. When she finally saw a huge knife next to the plate she swallowed immensly with anticipation. This was probably her last meal…

Red John approached and she buckled in her chair. She swallowed. This was it. She then saw his hands wondered at her back and he cutted the ropes with the knife he was holding. He sensed her fear when she became frantic under his grip

"don't worry I'm not gonna kill you" he said as he whispered in her ear "not for now" he added

Lisbon had stopped squirming and looked away

"it's not poisoned" Red John said with a smile "eat. You'll need to keep all of you strengh" he said motioning his hand towards her

He then left as quickly as he had arrived. Lisbon had noticed immeditely Red John had left the knife on the table next to her. She had try not look at it to scared he would cath her doing so. She then took greedily her sandwich and emptied her water bottle. She then tried to reach for the knife but unfortunatly it was too far and her arm was stretched to the maximum. She almost fell with her chair. She would use this tool with great verve but she would have to act fast and now before Red John would come back. She definitly needed a better strategy…

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Red John was smiling to himself as he looked at Teresa Lisbon on his video camera. She had trusted him innocently and still she had thought he hadn't seen the lightning in her eyes when he purposely left the knife on the kitchen table next to her. Such a fool little girl he thought to himself. Maybe this game would be funnier then he had expected after all…things would definitely get interresting he just needed to have patience something which was the greatest of his vertue. He then took a sip of his tea and swifted slightly in his chair while listening to his favorite classic music…

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Burning all the CBI files had been so easy for Patrick Jane. No one had questionned him when he had asked to see for the Red John files. The FBI was only to pleased that he was willing to give his help on the matter. He was only hoping that his actions would be worth it. That Red John would honor his deal with him : he also feared his nemesis was not to kind of men to ever make compromise, especially when it comes to killing. Jane was walking back slowly to his office looking everywhere around him in suspicion. Even thought he was pretty sure no one from the building had seen him break into the filing room and burn all of the files, the doubts still ran into his mind. When he took the elevator, he ran into Rigsby who arrived only seconds afer him.

"hey" Rigsby said nonchalentely "thanks for holding that up men"

"no problem" Jane said with a ligth smile

The two men didn't know what to say when Rigsby violently pushed the off button of the elevator causing it to jam. The tall dark-haired agent then stared at Jane with a serious look and hands on his hips.

"we need to talk" Rigsby said eyebrows lift

"yeah I guess so" Jane said with a soft smile that betrayed his discomfort

"look I know you regret what you have done in the past and you probably feel guilty about it. But there's nothing you can do about it" Rigsby said pausing

"I know that" Jane said with a smile

"and I know maybe you're mad because you think we don't understand you" he said "but the truth is we can't…and you're not the only one who's mad. Red John had made each of our lives a living hell for the past ten years" he said

"what is it you're trying to say ?" Jane asks knowing what Rigsby intentions were

"I hate to say it but I think Red John has a point" Rigsby said quickly "I think this is your chance to prove him wrong, that you're willing to sacrifice yourself for someone else's life" he said in relief

"so basically you're scared that I will let Red John take her life away and then clear out like nothing even happened ?" he asked

"yeah something like that" Rigsby said dissapointed that Jane had seen in him

"you don't have to worry" Jane said while starting back to elevator

"great" Rigsby said reassured

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Jane and Rigsby made their way to the CBI offices. Cho looked incredule and Grace looked scared. Jane immediately knew something was going on.

"what is it ?" Jane asked

Grace looked at him but didn't dare to talk then she looked back at Cho.

"she has five hours left" Cho said

"what ?" Jane asked as if he hadn't understand correctly

"Red John is gonna kill Lisbon if you don't do as he says in time" Cho adds

"what else does he wants ?" Jane asks

"he wants you to burn you house and take off you wedding ring" Cho says

"okay that's not a problem" Jane lied

Of course it was a huge step forward for Jane to get rid of the last memories of his wife and child he had but he also knew it was the only possible way to save Lisbon and finally catch Red John. He was willing to do those things if only it would work out as he planed. The rest was just collateral damages ; old pieces of furniture nithing else he told himself as a sweet and comforting lullaby.

"he's not telling you were he is…he says you have to find out" Cho said

"he's a freak" Rigsby said nervously "he didn't even give us any clue" he adss ironically

"yes he did" Jane said calmly

Every gaze was turned out to him now

"explain yourself" Cho said a bit offended

"last time he contacted me, Red John said he had left a gift for me. Something personal and destined for my view only" then he paused not sure if the team was ready to ear the rest

"do you have it ?" Cho asked

"not exactly" Jane said shyly

"Jane you have to tell us for the sake of Lisbon's life" Grace said lips pursed and hands trembling

"well I'm not sure yet" Jane said lifting one hand up in defense "but I think he might have left something on Vanessa Reid's body. He delivered it at the morgue this morning and said it was a gift" Jane finished

"and you didn't checked out ?" Rigsby asked

"no" Jane said bowing down his face shamelessly

"great" Cho said anger visible on his traits

"I-I did't think there could be something there" Jane stuttered in defense "plus I got to say I find it a little creepy" Jane adds

"what did you expect ? it's Red John for christ's sake" Rigsby said with disappointment in his voice

"I will look it up" Jane said "in the meantime I want you all to stay here and call me if he contacts you again" Jane said as he left the bullpen

Jane was a little bit frustrated with himself for beeing pawned like that so easily. What was going on with him ? Was he loosing his skills ? Or was he only a fool when it camed to Red John ? He regreted that Lisbon wasn't there. She was the only one to reason him in those situations, stoping him from doing crazy things. Maybe except for this one time when he shot a men whom he thought to be Red John. He could only imagined her pain and her dissappointment for him at this moment and the fear or what might happen to him. Poor Teresa, what had she done to deserve someone like him ?

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When Jane arrived at the morgue, he showed his badge to the security guard. The tall men gave him a suspicious look then let Jane enter and told him he had only fifteen minuts. When he entered the morgue, Jane felt the cold breeze of the freezer ran down his spine. As long as his memory could go he didn't remember this place to be so chilly. Maybe there was something wrong with the ventilators. He claped his hands together looking for warmth. He didn't know where Vanessa Reid was but he looked into the victim's file. Even thought Red John could have her put her anywhere, Jane thought it was worth a try. According to the files, the victim was stored in the drawer 306. Jane opened it cautiously then lifted the silky white sheet that covered her body. What he saw twisted his guts inside out. What was he expecting ? The victim had been decapitated, eviscerated and her body was covered with deep scars. Contrary to what Red John thought, Jane didn't know Vanessa so well, but he couldn't help but feel guilt for her tragic end. He had only tried to help her and his nemesis had took her life away for that thinking that Jane had an affair with her. Jane prefered not to think about what he would have to do to find what Red John had left to him. At this very moment something caught his attention. On her leftside lower back something like a draw or a symbol seemed to have been paint in red. At first he hadn't notice but now that he looked closer he saw that it was a tatoo ; it was a red key surrounded by flames with a serial number on it. From Jane's guess the tatoo was the work of Red John, it was his mark the one of the devil.

The numbers were barely visible but Jane had been able to caught the first six numbers, the four others were imperceptible.

"What are you doing ?" called the security guard

Jane was so caught up in his quest that he didn't ear the men coming inside the morgue

"I was looking for evidence" Jane said forcing a smile

"did you find what you wanted ?" the guard asked

"not really" Jane lied

"your time is up" the tall men said

"yeah thank you" Jane said before he got out of the morgue

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When Jane got back to the office the others were waiting after him impatiently. Rigsby was biting off his nails, Grace was claping her foot and Cho had his arms crossed like usual. When Jane entered the bullpen they all stood at the same time.

"nine, one, six, five, eigh, four" Jane said "it was tattooed on her back inside a key there's at least four other numbers or letters I could catch up but that's a start" Jane says when he saw the look of confusion on three other agents's face.

"I don't know" Grace said "there could at least a thousand possibilities" she said

"how many letters there were ?" Cho asked

"I don't know maybe ten" Jane said

"could be a phone number" Rigsby said quickly

"no it's too easy" Jane says "it was written inside a key so it's something more specific" he adds

"we don't have time for this" Cho said sighing which showed that he might loose his patience

"a little patience" Jane said

"we need to work on where was Lisbon before she dissapeared and who was the last person to see her" Cho said "Grace ?" Cho asked for information

"I don't where she went, I know it was at a restaurant but I don't know which one" she said "it's not like her to go somewhere and not tell us where" she says sighing and angry with herself

"it's not your fault" Jane said trying to comfort her

"yeah easy for you to say" Grace said looking at Jane with disdain

"I'm sorry" Jane said "I know you're angry with me but we need your help" Jane said looking at her honestly

"who else knows where she went ?" Cho asked to Grace

"I don't know maybe Sam saw her…he's the one who discovered Lorelai's body this morning" she said hypothetically

"I thought it was the genitor who saw her first" Cho said

"yeah but he was there too" she said

"who's Sam ?" Jane asked

"he's the guardian prison cell at the CBI he's the one who contacts us about our convicts" Rigsby says to inform Jane

"I'll go see him" Jane said "maybe he saw someone or something" Jane said

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The guardian prinson cell was middle-aged men probably in his late fifties with a moustache and salt-and-pepper hair. When he turned his face, Jane could see the deep scar on the men's face something he must have got in his youth.

"what can I do for you ?" the men asked when he saw Jane arrive

"Hi I'm Patrick Jane nice to meet you" Jane said with a smile and shaking the other men's hand

"nice to meet you Patrick I'm Sam" the men said "what can I do for you ?"

"I think you might have seen a friend of mine this morning her name is Teresa Lisbon" Jane said

"yep I know Teresa right I told her the FBI wanted to see her this morning. No wonder after what happened to that women…I don't remember her name"

"Lorelai" Jane said

"yep that's it Lorelai" the men said "miss Lisbon is a very nice girl you know she offered her help to the FBI and didn't even complained when they removed her and her team from the Red John case…she's a real gem" the men said

"yes she is" Jane said with a sad smile "she had been kidnapped this morning her life is in very danger" Jane said trying to hold up the tears that wanted to come down his face

"oh that's terrible" the men said disconcerted "if there's anything I can do to help…" he starts twitching his moustache but Jane interrupted him

"I need to know if you saw anyone coming or getting out of Lisbon's office or coming close to her…anyone out of ordinary" Jane said with hope in his eyes

"actually Mr. Jane I did" the men said with enthusiasm

"who was it ?" Jane asked gulping

"well I don't know his name" the men said dissapointed "but I can give you a full description if you want" he said

"yes that would help very much" Jane said with a smile

He saw from the men's expression that he was glad he could help. Aside from the clue Red John gave them, they were fianally having a more potential evidence that could lead them to Lisbon. Jane only hoped this new turn of events wouldn't be a dead end. Maybe eventually they would be able pick up all the pieces of the puzzle and put them together. There were so little time left for Lisbon, but Jane knew he would outsmart Red John in the end. He had too. After all his nemesis hadn't choose him as his principal opponent for nothing ?

_Author's note : sorry for the little change of game, but I promise at the very beginning of the next chapter we will finally know who is Red John. Maybe some of you had already find out ? :D anyways there will be maybe two or three chapters more so keep up reading the rest is going to be epic ! ;) thanks for reading and a big hug to the one person who supports me with this writing hope you enjoyed this sweetie xDD don't forget to comment and let me know what you think see ya all :P_


	8. The Rabbit Hole

**Chapter 8 (The Rabbit Hole)**

When Jane got back, the team was even more tensed then the last time. Rigsby's nail were going vivacious red from all the biting, Grace was working on her computer who knows what and Cho was pacing the room.

"so ?" Cho asked

"he said he saw someone entering her office right after he talked to her" Jane starts "said the door was slightly open and he could ear them talk. Didn't know what they were saying but he said they seemed friendly" Jane said

"that's odd" Grace said frowning "Lisbon didn't say one of her brother was visiting" she said

"maybe a boyfriend" Rigsby proposed

They all looked away at that comment. There was an awkward silence.

"no" Cho finally said "what does he looks like ?" Cho asked

"huh, tall white men with short dark hair and blue eyes" Jane said

"you sure ?" Grace asked surprised

"that's what Sam said" Jane told Grace

Grace looked at Cho and Rigsby who didn't know what to say

"c'mon guys does this description means anything familial to you ?" she asks sarcastically

Cho and Rigsby now looked at each other incredule

"agent Eyre, short hair and blue eyes that's got to be him" she said

"I remember him" Cho said "his name is Jonathan Eyre he was working with us this morning on the Vanessa Reid case" he adds

"yeah I remember him too" Rigsby said "he had a creepy smile" he said as a memory

"how do we find him ?" Cho asked

"we need to go back to the crime scene" Jane said "maybe we will find out were they went after that" he adds

"let's go" Cho said

The four of them picked up their coats and all went to the elevator. Time was moving fast, but they had a good lead and they would have to act fast to be there in time.

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Lisbon had stopped to count the hours she was tied up to her chair. She had tried in vain to reach for the knife who was so close to her. It was her only hope. Suddenly she could ear the heavy metal door cringed and open slowly. She stopped moving on the spot. She knew it was Red John who was paying her another visit. This time he hadn'd brought a cart with him or any needles, just a flat wooden chair. She sighed in relief. At least he hadn't come to drug her. He laid the chair on the floor only inches away from her and sat on it. He then crossed his left leg and posed both hands on his knees.

"Hi Teresa, nice to see you again" he said calmly with his usual creepy voice

Lisbon didn't talk

"did the cat catch you tongue ?" Red John said shifting his head to the side

"me and your friend Patrick have recently come to a little agreement his life in exchange of yours…but you already knew that didn't you ?" he asked sarcastically

Lisbon stayed silent

"your friend has five hours to come to your rescue after that I can't gurantee your safety here" Red John said

Lisbon didn't flinch at the threat

"why are you here ?" Lisbon asks

"well, I was hoping to have a little chat with you Teresa maybe spend some quality time and get to know each other that can be fun" he said with a very high voice

"so you can brainwash me and turn me into one of you're little playing doll" Lisbon said on a challenging tone

"you're a brave little girl agent Lisbon" Red John said "I can understand why Patrick has developped such admiration for you…very impressing" he adds

"that's all ?" she asks

"for now" Red John said as he got up "I really hope next time I'm coming your friend Patrick would be joigning us. I can't wait to see if he's up to the challenge so to speak" he adds with enthusiasm

Lisbon wanted to puke. Red John had such a twisted mind. How could he stay so calm and scare the crap out of you ?

"yeah count on it" Lisbon says

"oh and before I forget…I think I might have slip up something of mine to your disposition" Red John said as he firmly grabed the huge knife next to Lisbon

"what a fool I am" he adds sarcastically approaching his face only inches away from Lisbon's that she could almost feel his breath on her left cheek ; He smelled of tea and vanilla.

Lisbon now knew that the fact Red John had left the knife was not an accident. He had gave her hope and now he had took it back. When he was gone, Lisbon sighed heavily and finally let her muscles relax. She was so tensed in the presence of Red John, he was such an unpredictable person almost like Jane but worse. She was glad he was gone but she couldn't help but think that his come back would be the last one and that she might not get out alive this time.

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The team parked the black SUV on a free spot in the street. It was far from the crime scene so they had to walk all the way to downtown Sacramento. They finally reached the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and they all stood on the pavement.

"you're sure it's here ?" Jane asked in conptempt

"accordig to the GPS yeah" Grace said

"what is the area code here ?" Jane finally asks

"I don't know I can check into the map I guess" Grace responded surprised by Jane's question

"the zip code is 94812" Grace said

"no, no it's doesn't work" Jane whispered in frustration "can I borrow this ?" Jane asked but almost stole the phone from Grace's hand

"yeah sure" she said

Jane looked at it for a while then when he saw the others weren't looking at him he walked slowly in the opposite direction and started to run halfway. After a while they all realized he was gone.

"hey where's Jane ?" Grace finally asked

Cho looked down the street

"he's there" Cho sighed

They all started to run after him

"yeah we better go fast if we don't wanna loose his track" Rigsby said

When they finally reached Jane, he was standing still in front of a little restaurant called Chicory café. He had a huge smile on his face and he looked at the three other agents who were staring at him in shock.

"BINGO" Jane yelled

"what the hell was that for ?" Cho asked short of breath

"the GPS it says we're precisely at 95814" Jane said with enthusiasm "does this number remember anything to you ?" Jane asked showing the cellphone to whoever wanted to see

"just tell us Jane" Rigsby said with annoyance

"nine, one, six, five, eight, four. Those were the numbers i found on the victim's tattoo" Jane started "now if you take the first three numbers 916 is it the number of a motel room or maybe one of the winning ticket no it's nothing else than the area code of California Sacramento" Jane said with pride

"so it's a location then" Rigsby said

"precisely" Jane said "and if you take the 584 those numbers alone don't make sense but if you add the first two numbers of the area code 9 then 1 you get 95814 the zip code of downtown sacramento"

"here we are…shall we ?" he said looking at the team

They all looked at each other in dispair by Jane's usual ways of finding a lead but they got to admist that his techniques were always really effective.

When they enterred the café, they were welcomed by a fifty year old blonde women with a craking voice.

"What can I do for you ?" the women asked

They all looked at Grace who felt it was better if she was the one to ask questions

"my name is Grace I work with the CBI and this is agent Cho, Rigsby and Patrick Jane he's a consultant. We were wondering if we could ask you some questions ?" Grace started and tried to gulp to huge lump in her throat

"nice to meet you Grace my name is Lila what can I do for you ?" the women said with a very nice smile and took Grace's hand affectionately

"well one of our friend at the CBI disappeared…yesterday in the afternoon" Grace started but the women interrupted her with a little cry

"oh that's terrible I'm really sorry" the women said has she put a hand next to her heart in shock and semi-closed her eyes

"her name is Teresa Lisbon she works at the CBI with us she is at least 5'5 tall she has long dark-brown hair, brown eyes maybe you have seen her" Grace asked eyes pleading

"oh I see a lot of people coming in an out everyday at the restaurant my dear it is very difficult for me to remember faces, my sight is not what it was you see..." the women started with a little laugh "if you have a picture maybe I will be able to help you" she said with a smile

Grace didn't tought of that and asked the other members of the team if they had a picture. Jane finally responded and showed the blonde waitress a picture of Lisbon ; one he had stored on his cellphone

"what a lovely girl…" the women said with a sad smile "is she your girlfriend ?" she asked with a smile looking directly at Jane

Jane didn't know what to say and his cheeck had slightly turned red in the space of seconds but he tried to control it. He didn't want his colleague to pace his reaction but obviously it was a failed attempt. Even Cho held back a smile.

"no I work with her she's a-a very good friend of mine" Jane said now visibly blushing

"I can see she means a lot to you" the women said with fire-lightening in her eyes

"you got me" Jane said with a sad smile with both hands in the hair trying to look casual "but she doesn't have much time" Jane said

If things were different, Jane would have find the situation quite amusing ; especially if Lisbon was there. She would have blushed immensely and stutter searching for her words. The tought almost made him smile. But now they didn't have time for this.

"I'm deeply sorry I don't recognize her…" the women said sadly "but maybe Sharon have seen her she was doing the day shift yesterday I can call her if you want ?" she asked

"that would be nice" Jane said starting to get impatient

As much as the women was gentle with them, Lisbon had only three hours left. They had to speed up things a little.

"Sharon some nice people want to talk to you about a client they're from the CBI can you come in here for a second please ?" the waitress yelled

Aften ten seconds the women didn't come but all they heard was the sound of smashed plates on the ground.

"she's trying to escape" Rigsby said

"yeah" Cho said holding his gun "sorry ma'am but we have to go there" he said in apology

"yeah sure do your job" the women said in shock

The team all went behing the counter. When they reached the banging door at the back of the restaurent it swirled open ; the employee had escaped there for sure. Cho was the one in lead when they got out of the restaurant but the women they were chasing had already got in her car and left. After a little jog, Cho only had time to pick up her license driver. The rest of the team followed him down the alley and they were able to reach back their car. Once they settled in the black SUV, Grace entered the license driver into the GPS it wasn't long before they were able to track down the car.

"turn right on the 10th" Grace said to Cho as he drove

"where do you think she's going ?" Rigsby asked with curiosity

"I don't know" Grace said "looks like we're going back" she says

Grace's hypothesis was fund when their tailing lead them to the old gothic architecture Cathedral once again. Nonetheless, the red spot on the GPS had stopped not far away from there, a little to the left.

"where are we going ?" Rigsby asked

"I have absolutely no idea" Grace said

When they got out of the SUV they walked along the long black sharp railing across the church. It was chilly outside and the leaves of the trees bashed into the air as the wind blew. At their greatest surprise, they arrived at the exact spot the GPS had indicate them but the car they had been chasing was nowhere to be found. They decided to walk a couple of miles away and after a while they found the grey old car parked down the street between K Street and the 12th. But nothing else. They were lost in the dark with this.

"where are we ?" Cho asked

"I don't know" Grace resonded "let's go down the alley and we'll see" Grace proposed

When they arrived in front of a ligth-red metal door, Jane's eyes went wide and he knew they were at the right place. Jane's expression got the rest of the team wondering.

"What is it ?" Cho asked

"the adress is 27 and we're on K Street" Jane said "that's here" he said looking at the team

"you're sure ?" Grace asked getting frantic

"yeah that's it" Jane said in defeat "I'm going in…wish me luck" he said looking at them like it was the last time

The others knew it was pointless to insist on going with Jane. It was between him and Red John, no one else. At least they knew where he was and they could rescue him if anything got out of hands- which they would probably. Jane gave one last look to his team before he turned the rusty door knob. For some reason he held his breath in anticipation scared of what he might discover behind this closed door.

But when he entered all he could see was plain darkness filing his eyes, withdrawing him from any sense of reality. The door closed immediately behind him. He was all alone in this, left to himself and his own mind. Despite the absence of light, Jane tried to put one feet in front of the other. Only a few steps and his upper leg touched something. His body tensed afraid that he might have triggered a bomb or something very dangerous. But all he could see was a blinking red light, sparkling in the shadows ; the light was coming closer to him and flashed more intensely. Jane's fist clenched and he was so scared he wanted to go away, to come back in the alley, close the door behind him and never go back, but a voice stopped him from going.

_Don't be afraid Patrick come in and welcome into my humble lair I hope you will feel like home…it's been so long since I wanted to meet you I already had the pleasure to meet you friend Teresa, she is waiting impatiently for you, don't make her wait (chuckles) see you soon Patrick…_

At this very moment, Jane knew there was no coming back ; Red John knew he was there and he had waited for him impatiently. Somehow Lisbon had been caught in it and he would do anything to save her, even give his life for her. He would not make the same mistake twice. He was down into **the** **rabbit hole** and he was kept against his will for one last battle againt his worst nemesis. He would fight until the end, not caring if he will get out dead or alive.

Author's note : i know the end is kind of creepy haha xDD but next chapter we will finally see some PJ vs RJ action, so get ready to be at the edge of your seat and close the lights for better ambiance lol :D thanks for the support some of you gave me it's really appreciated ! i will post next chapter tomorrow and the last one probably the day after so see you all soon ;))


	9. Red Maze

**Chapter 9 (Red Maze)**

Another breath, another wink and the dazzling red-light reached it's point of no return ; the shadow was hauling across his face and stopped right above his head just before blowing out. Jane had lost any notion of time and space. He got his senses back when the bright lights flew open one after another revealing an endless corridor of sucessive doors.

Each and every door looked the same ; wooden shaped with a golden plate number on it. How would he find the right one ? It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Jane decided he would have to try everyone of them. When he tried to pick up the rusty latch of each door he find out that most of them were locked. He went down every door and counted them, there were at least a hundred of them by now.

After half and hour of running through the locks, Jane tought he would go insane ; he was spiralling into a neverending labyrinth of oblivion where everything was alike except for the countdown of the numbers on each door room. After a while, he wasn't sure of what he saw anymore. He swore he could have seen the end of the corridor. Was he becoming delusional ? ; was it a mirage shaped by his only mind to release him from this curse ?

No it had to be one of them. Realisation hit him when he saw he numbers on the doors ; only three were left. He woudn't die trying everyone of them would he ? As he was about to hold the first knob he heard the echos of a high piched voice, the one he had heard about an hour ago. It was Red John again…

_Hi Patrick, hope you enjoyed you little ride (chuckles)…I tried to soothe your task, you see letting you prevaricate beetween a hundred doors woudn't be fair of me, especially in such short amount of time (chuckled again)…so I let you only three choices : between one of them lays you friend Teresa safe and sound, between the two others…well I'm sure you know since your mind hasn't run free of imagination. The rules are simple, you choose right, I release your little friend in exchange of your life as agreed. You choose wrong, you stay with me and I keep her to my own and personal favour._

"how do I know she's not already dead ?" Jane asks not sure if he would get an answer

"it's all a matter of trust Patrick" Red John says with a soft chuckle "it's of me to decide if you've been a fairly valuable and worthy opponent, as for now you shall hurry. The dealine ends in thirty minuts so to speak" he adds with a sadistic smile

Jane wanted to say something else to ask him how does he picks up the right door in the first place when he has no idea how to choose the right one to begin with ? Did Red John even gave him a single useful clue ? Then he tought of the same men who brought him here then told himself Red John must have give him just the right amount of information for him to succeed. On the other hand, the situation was different now ; there was a difference between giving him indications of where he was and letting him win. It was easy for Red John to taunt him into coming here by letting him know he was trusthworthy then lie to him in the end when he knew it was his last piece of victory. Once again, his nemesis was playing mind games with him and he didn't like the sense of uncertainty and inferiority it procured him. Why was he always powerless when it came to Red John ? Maybe he was putting him on a pedestal, maybe in order to win he had to see his nemesis for who he really was ; a twisted human being with flaws and vices just like him. Jane smiled to himself an evil smile. He knew exactly what he would do…

xxxxxxx

Lisbon winced in her chair. Her ropes were so tighthen some of her body parts seemed to be paralysed ; especially her left arm where the rope was pressing againts her almost unbearable bruises.

Red John was sitting next to her. If he was getting impatient, he didn't seem to show it she tought. He was sipping his cup of tea through the small opening of his mask and he was facing her legs crossed and slightly relaxed on the chair's back. Even though his facial features were out of sight, she could have swear he was looking at her. A shiver ran down her spine at the tought.

"you don't have to be so quiet" Red John finally told her "all that anxiety is not good for your blood pressure" he said boderline sarcastic

"those ropes don't help either" she tells him with a laugh

"what is so funny ?" he asks almost offended

"this, me talking with you this is so ridiculous" she said with a smile

Lisbon felt incredibly funny all of a sudden. Maybe it was the adrenaline ; the pressure of beeing captive making her slowly loose her sanity.

"how's so ?" Red John asks calmly

"well-well first of all you're sitting here drinking your tea looking at me like there's nothing going on and second you haven't drugged me yet. Instead you're here having a little chat with me, I'm sorry to say but that's hilarious" Lisbon says her head starting to feel dizzy

Before she knows it, Red John had got out of his chair and was standing up right in front of her only inches away from her face like he had done previously. He then approached his face to her ear and paused.

"and what makes you think agent Lisbon that I haven't drugged you yet ?" he whispers with a machiavellian smile in her ear

Lisbon's lips slightly pout and she grit her teeth then her eyes widened in anticipation looking at the cup of tea Red John had so gently poured into her mouth only minuts ago.

"you drugged me" Lisbon trailed

Before she realized it her body was leaving her letting her arms collapsed next to her. Her vision became blurry and doubled ; the last thing she saw was the stereoscopic image of Red John's ugly smeared mask gently pulling her head back to rest on the chair. Then all went black.

xxxxxxx

"he's been there for more than two hours something's happened we need to go in" Cho said irritation visible on his face

"as much as it kills me for Lisbon to be in there Jane wanted us to stay out of it" Rigsby said "and even if we wanted to help him the doors's locked for christ sake it's unbreakable, you wanna try again for the unteenth time ?" he adds defiantly looking at the asian men

"we're going in" Cho said looking back at Rigsby defiantly "Van Pelt call for backup" he ordered the red-hair women

In less than ten minuts squad-tactic teams and FBI cars were parked in front of the building. Of course Grace had ask them to be as discret as possible and to not put the sirens. Even thought Red John had clearly forbid the presence of the law inforcement, Cho had take the best decision ; the one Lisbon would have made if she was at his place.

In one of the black SUV, a tall white men with black sunglasses and a dark-blue coat written FBI on it got out ; from his look the team could see he was the one in charge of the operations. He approached Cho and shook his hand.

"you must be agent Cho, I'm agent Riley nice to meet you" the men said as he took off his glasses "and you must be agent Van Pelt" he told Grace with his best smile "and you agent Rigsby" he said pointing at the tall agent

"yep that's right" Rigsby said shaking the men's hand in return "nice to meet you" he adds embarassed

"so what's the situation ?" agent Riley asked looking at Cho

"we have two of our colleagues inside the building. One of them is agent Teresa Lisbon she's a CBI agent and the other one is Patrick Jane he's a consultant. He works with us." Cho said

"what's the agent's state ?" the agent asks

"one of them is beeing held captive by Red John and his possibly badly injuried. The other one we don't know for sure. He got in two hours ago and he hasn't come back yet." Cho said

"Red John the famous serial killer ?" Riley asked

"yep that's him" Cho said

"and how badly injured is you friend ?" the agent asks

Cho looked at his team for approval fearing his revelations might hurt them

"possibly multiple lacerations and drug administrations" Cho said

"have you checked in yet ?" Riley asks

"We have tried to break in but the door's locked. We were waiting for you to search around the perimeter, see if there's another entry" Cho briefed the FBI agent

"good" the FBI agent says "I will ask to my team to call the paramedics immediately the FBI has got this in hands. We will securize the building before we get in and call you if we need help" agent Riley said with a smile before pulling back

"agent Riley" Cho called him

"yes agent Cho" he said annoyed that the men was interrupting his momentum

"if you go in there now he will kill them" Cho said arms crossed

"so what do you say agent ?" he asks Cho defiantly getting inches closer to him

"you need our help" Cho said looking at him

"as much as I appreciate your offer agent Cho, the FBI is entirely capable of handling the situation now if you'll excuse me I have a job to do" he tells him with contempt in his voice

"it's not negociable" Cho said arms still crossed

"what are you trying to prove agent Cho ?" the agent asked trying to coax him "that you're the big guy here, that yours is bigger than mine" he said offensively

"yeah maybe" Cho adds without blinking

If he didn't know better, Cho could see that the FBI agent was beeing unprofessionnal. What he didn't know was that the men's –paint in the ass- attitude was his daily behavior.

The situation didn't make agent Riley nervous, he had seen and ear worst things in his career and he knew exactly what he was doing. On the other hand agent Riley was a poor negociator. He knew he would need the help of the CBI for the operation so he decided to resign.

"fine" agent sighed "come with me" he said flexing his index finger

Rigsby and Grace all looked at Cho with a light admiration in their eyes. After all it was their friends that were in danger. They would not sit there and wait while the FBI got all the credit. No they would do anything possible to save Lisbon and Jane altogether even thought their hopes towards the consultant weren't too high.

xxxxxxx

Jane closed his eyes and took a deep breath, has he tried to visualize himself opening each and every door, imagining every possiblities ; what he remembered, what Red John had told him and most importantly what his guts was telling him to do. He found out long travels into his own memory palace had always helped him focus and regain control over himself.

A chorthle escaped his mouth ; his toughts had rapidly wondered towards his family then the smell of Charlotte's shampoo and her soft baby skin like and then he remembered the night of the murder ; the horrors he had seen, the blood on the floor and the smiley face on the wall, his eyes fluttered in shock. When he opened his eyes everything went back to normal and he felt a semblant of peace of mind. He now knew exactly where he was and what he had to do.

Jane took a step closer to the door number three. The fluorescent light above the door flickered abusively sending spasmes of stimulus through his spine. His heart was beating faster and his right hand shaked hesitantly above the door knob. Before he opened it, he took one deep breath as if it was the last one and pushed the wooden furniture open.

When he saw Lisbon uncounscious tied up in a chair and Red John holding a knife next to her throat he didn't know if he should sight in relief that he had guesses right or get anxious that he had arrived to late. Jane stayed like that for a while his hands clanging in the air as he was watching the men in front of him, studying him from head to toe.

"Patrick I must say I'm impressed" Red John said as he repeatedly clapped his hands together still holding the knife "you followed every of my clue perfectly I must say I was worried a little that you might fail me again…after all I have always been one step ahead of you so to say" Red John said with a little laugh

"but here I am" Patrick said

"because I wanted you to be" Red John said "otherwise I'm afraid you'd be somewhere else" he adds

"I have no doubt" Jane said trying to calm down as much as possible

Red John had instantly noticed Jane's glare quickly shift to Lisbon.

"don't worry I have not kill her…yet" Red John said as he gently replaced one of Lisbon's hair lock behind her ear

Jane couldn't stand for his nemesis to lay even one finger on Lisbon even if he didn't arm her. He was holding the building anger inside of him.

"I only took the liberty to dispose her to sleep before you arrived I'm sure she's gonna wake up soon" Red John said as he softly stroke Lisbon's cheek

Jane was panting heavily trying to contain the visible anger

"You can ask it Patrick" Red John trailed

Jane's eyes wrinkled

"there's not poin in denying Patrick" he said

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Jane lied

"oh Patrick, so many questions sliping and burning the tip of your tongue…you finally have a chance to meet me face to face and ask me whatever you want you're not gonna spoil it arent' you ? I must say I would be extremely dissappointed if you did" Red John said with a condescending tone

"fair enough" Jane said then paused before he spoke "why me ?" he finally asks

"why does it always have to be about you ?" Red John asks sarcastically

"fine why you huh killed my familly then ?" Jane asked softly

"because you're worth so much more than that…such a waiste of talent I'm sure your father would think the same" he adds

What did Red John knew about his father ? What made him think he even had the right to mention him or speak for him ? Of course his father was a scrum, a selfish little men with no ambitions but he was his father and he wasn't him. He had a life before Red John killed his family and a real job two things that had been taken away from him.

"I think you're overestimating me" Jane lied "besides I honored my part of the deal, you can let her go" Jane said starting to get impatient

"oh Patrick I wish it would be that easy but I'm afraid I can't let that happen" Red John said as he gently waves the sharp edge of his knife on Lisbon's neck a little above her collarbone

Jane wanted to say something and the look on his face was telling _"if you touch her"_ but he had to be strong to play the game until the end ; keep his head cool. Unfortunately, Red John had seen in him and decided to replicate.

"oh Patrick you know I would never do that, I know how much she means to you how much of a _friend_ she is to you" Red John says insisting on one word precisely "too bad her feelings for you has grow in another direction, one you were not ready to ear…would be sad if the last thing you told her was how much you resented her" Red John said meaningly

At this moment, Jane knew that Red John had heard their conversation that night, the one between him and Lisbon. He always had his suspicions but now he was sure of it. He had heard everything that had been said : the confessions, the lies and the rejection. After all those years, Jane finally knew that Red John had buged his house and was listening to every of his conversation not to mention that he had many accomplice.

"see if I care…you could slit her throat I couldn't care less" Jane lied "actually the only reason I was really asking is to not run the doubts upon me, you see save some CBI paperworks after all" Jane lied eyes wrinkles

From Red John's demeanor, Jane could see the satisfaction emanate from his adversary.

"I see you finally had a change of heart" Red John said "I always knew you and I could be friends" Red John adds with emotion

"yeah I only realize it now" Jane says with an evil grin

"you can ask Patrick it's ok" Red John said as he red Jane's mind

Jane's eyes sparkled with pride ; his nemesis was falling for it.

"I can do it for you" Jane said "it'll be my initiation" Jane said trying to hold his fake smile

"so you finally agree to end her life" Red John says perceptibly

"oh your heard right" Jane said with a grin

There was a pause before Red John spoke as if he was trying to analyse his moves, his reactions. On the other hand it was hard for Jane to do so since the men in front of him had a thick ugly mask plastered to his face.

"as you wish" Red John said with a high voice "what is your weapon of choice ?" he adds

"I don't really like guns so I guess a knife would do the trick" Jane said

At the very moment his nemesis folded the huge knife in his hand Jane knew he had

the upper hand. It was almost like last year when he had faked to shoot Lisbon in her office while she was wearing a bulletproof except for two hindrances ; Red John was there and Lisbon wasn't aware of his plan this time.

Jane took a deep breath and approached the sharpy blade as close to Lisbon as it could get, the tricky part was to get enough close to her, to make Red John think he would kill her than kill his enemy instead. That was the plan so far.

But when he saw the polished reflection of the blade reflect on his nemesis's right hand, Jane's face went solemn ; he was the one to have been tricked. Jane gripped the knife firmly and immediately turned to Red John who was now pointing a gun at him.

"If I were you Mr. Jane I woudn't do that" Red John said with an evil smile "I shall put a bullet to your brain before you even have the chance to stab me in the flesh" he said weaving the weapon at Jane

Jane was always scared of guns but this time he was to focused on his victory against his nemesis, he was so close to wining. If only he could have help he tought.

"what do you want from me ?" Jane asks angrily now letting his emotions get the best of him

"for us is to be friends again but I knew from the moment you proposed me this foolish little game it wasn't meant to be…what do you think I'm a fool ? giving you a real knife so you can stab me in the back" Red John said sarcastically

Jane wanted to look at the silly weapon which he now knew was a fake. He knew his chances of survival now almost reduce to none.

Jane could see the furry emaning from his nemesis and he knew it wasn't good for him.

"you see if you really did have a change of heart, which you didn't, we woudn't be standing right here and you would have realized that you and I are bound by ours gifts but you had to spoil it all Patrick tsk-tsk-tsk" Red John said regaining is usual calm

"as much as it saddens me now you're forcing me to do something I really wish I could avoid…and I'm also afraid this little agreement of ours concerning you friend is past due" Red John said lifting his gun to Jane's head

Jane almost closed his eyes in anticipation ; he knew he was close to the end that soon he would be admiring the schism between light and darkness, not that he believe in an afterlife or something of sort but he was always scared of the suffering and most importantly he was scared of what could happen to Lisbon-his little Teresa- when he would passed away, killed miserably by his worst nemesis.

xxxxxxx

For half an hour, Lisbon had admired the conversation between the two men in front of her in the comfort of her chair eyes half closed. None of them so far had suspected of her to fake sleep while planing every part of her escape. As much anger and frustrations she felt towards Jane, now wasn't the best time to express those feeling. She was a fighter and she would not let Jane get duped so easily without saving his life for some misunderstanding. In the space of second Lisbon decided it was the time to put her plan into action.

A chair fell on the floor and there was the sound of a loud smoking gun. Then the sudden confused hubbub had ended leaving the **red maze** of the building in a perfect and peaceful silence. Who was injuried ? Who was dead and who had survived ? From now then no one knew…

_Autho's note : I know it's very very evil of me to end it like that but I wanted to be sure to have enough baggage for my last chapter if you know what I mean haha :D yeah you heard right, next chapter would be the last snif snif lol but don't worry all's well that ends well ;)) thank you guys for all your reviews I will never say enough how much I appreciate them ! see you all soon xDD_


	10. All's Well that Ends Well

**Chapter 10 (All's Well that Ends Well)**

There was a thunder of clasp and two bullets where fired. No one from the CBI or the other forces on the site had saw it coming but the sound was enough perceptible for them to hear it.

"I heard two gunshots from the west side of the building I need back up now" Cho almost yelled on his walki-talkie

Cho passed by agent Riley and gave him his –I told you-look. The FBI agent lowered his eyes only too aware that he had messed up.

Cho didn't hesitate as he smashed the back door of the building with his feet. He was followed by Wayne and Grace both guns in hand and covering for him. The three agents didn't flinched and followed their leader in the darkness of the building. They all turned on the light fixed on their guns.

After a while they found themselves in the same corridor Jane was into. At first they were almost desperate and didn't know which way to go ; there where so many doors. Fortunately, the soft cries of someone calling for help weren't too much muffled by the soundproofed walls and they could easily locate their colleagues's emplacement.

When he arrived in front of the door number three Cho called in.

"Lisbon where are you ?" Cho yelled

"in here" she called in a low and weak voice

"I'm going in" Cho yelled

When he heard no protestation, Cho kicked full force into the wooden frame causing the lock to break on itself. When the door flew open Lisbon was kneeled down in front of Jane who was laying on the ground. She was holding his hand and her watery eyes couldn't stop leaving the red spot on his chest. Red John was also stretched on the floor and wasn't moving.

"I'm gonnna check his pulse" Cho said speaking of Red John "he's dead" he said after a while

Rigsby and Van Pelt both sighed in relief. Cho stood there for a while looking at his boss whom he had never seen like that before. She was devastated she didn't even dare to look at him.

"it's okay Lisbon let me check him" he said in a soft voice as he put one knee on the ground next to her "is he breathing ?" he asked gently

"yeah-but-is-pulse-is-is-weak" Lisbon said still sobbing

When the paramedics arrived in they didn't waiste time and immediately put Jane on a stretcher. Lisbon had insisted to go in the ambulance with him despite her team's recommendation ; she was in shock and she probably needed medical care herself but in vain. As she sat on the back seat of the vehicule she took Jane's lifeless hand into hers and didn't let go of it until they arrived at the closest hospital.

Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt stood there as they saw the ambulance's lights vanish far away until it became a little yellow spot.

xxxxxxx

The ambulance finally arrived at Sutter General Hospital on L Street. When the paramedics asked for Lisbon to let go of Jane she didn't move, she was in shock. Everything was surreal ; she could ear the buzzing sound of the sirens almost muted and in her ears than she felt her body leave her

"ma'am are you alright ? ma'am I can't ear you" yelled a tall black women wearing a white blouse with a red cross on it

Lisbon was falling uncounscious : she saw black spots and heard small echos of peoples speaking. The women seemed to say something to another men next to her but she couldn't quite catch it, she was far gone.

"she's having a seizure" said the women to the other paramedic next to her as he put a flashlight in Lisbon's inert eyes

"yeah we need to reaminate her plug in the ECG" said the ambulance man

The men was grapping hardly the two hold of the electrocardiogram and pressed them to Lisbon's chest in one single stroke. Her chest rose immediately to the urgent knock.

"we're loosing her" the men said has he gave Lisbon another electric shock.

"GO" yelled the women

xxxxxxx

When Lisbon wake up she was laying down in a bed, wearing an hospital jacket. The last thing she remembered was the electric shock she took in the middle of the chest ; her right hand touched her still fast beating heart. Her first reaction was to get up and leave the bed but realization hit her when she saw the small tube inserted in her left arm.

"ma'am you need to stay here" said a blonde women wearing a nurse costume

"what happned ?" Lisbon asked

"apparently you were severely injuried and were under the influence of drug" the blonde nurse said as she was looking at her medical pad "the doctor said they found traces of cocain in you system you need to stay here for a couple of days until you are completely clean" she adds

"I'm fine" Lisbon protested as she tried to get up her bed with her still shaky arms

"I'm sorry ma'am but doctor's order" she said with a gentle smile

Right when the nurse was about to leave the room Lisbon called her.

"you have a patient here his name is Patrick Jane…" Lisbon started with hoarsely voice "could you tell me how he's doing ?" she asked

"Mr. Jane is still recovering from his injuries…but he's fine" the nurse started as she looked at her pad but Lisbon interrupted her

"I would like to see him" Lisbon said "if that would be possible I won't be long" she said almost pleading

The nurse looked like she was about to say no but replied.

"I need to ask the doctor but I'll see what I can do" the nurse said as she left the room

When she came back half an hour later, the nurse informed Lisbon she could go see Jane and she helped her with her solute until they reached Jane's bedroom. When they arrived at the entry Lisbon looked at the nurse telling her she coud manage on her own.

Lisbon's legs were still weak but she was able to crawl along the bed and sit on a chair. She then clung unto Jane's hand interlacing their fingers intimately. The contact felt overwhelming.

She didn't know how long she kept looking at Jane but he looked so peaceful ; a soft smile across his lips and his satin blonde curls perfectly combed as usual. Only his pale features and the dark rings under his eyes betrayed his exhaustion.

As she was looking at him a tear came running down her cheek. She only wished in this very moment she could see him awaken, looking at her with a full smile ligthing up his face. She wanted him to reasure her, to tell her it was gonna be okay, that he understood what she had done and why she had done it ; that killing Red John herself was the only way to save both their lives. She knew how much revenge was important to him but she was also scared he would feel bittersweet about it.

Lisbon couldn't stand rejection, not again. So she did the only sensible thing she tought she could do ; she left. She let go of Jane's hand and went back to her room and decided to never come back. To move on with him and put her past behind her. It was the hardest thing to do for sure but the most wise, so she tought.

An hour later Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt had visited her at the hospital. When she saw Cho with a bouquet of flowers with an embarassed expression followed by a smiling Grace she immediately knew who the idea came from. She held back a laugh. Rigsby was the first to speak.

"hey boss" he said "how you're holding up ?" he asked cheerfully

"I've been better" she complained as she sit down on her bed ajusting the pillow behind her back

"where's Jane ?" Cho asked her with an almost smile

At this moment she didn't know why but she did something she had never done before ; she lied to them.

"Jane's fine" she said gulping "but for now he needs to be alone" she said sadly

Grace gave her a look of compassion, Cho sighed and Rigsby looked down.

Lisbon didn't want to give her team false hope knowing that Jane might never come back at the CBI. But she just didn't think they could handle to never see him again for now. She would tell them eventually.

"so I guess there's gonna be a lot paperwork then" Lisbon said changing subject before any of us could object

"don't worry about it" Rigsby said

"yeah we're gonna take care of that boss" Grace retorqued with a smile

"it's so nice to see you all" Lisbon told them almost blushing "and thank you for the flowers they're beautiful" Lisbon said throwing a furtive smile at Grace

For some reasons, Lisbon knew it was her idea. She had to say her reading skills had slightly improved since she had met Jane. She felt sad at the tought of him.

"so how long you're gonna stay ?" Rigsby asked

"couple of days maybe less they said I was lucky to recover so fast usually people need at least two weeks for that kind of stuff" she said proudly

"always knew you were so tough" Rigsby said chuckling

"hey I was thinking" Grace started "maybe we can all have lunch together when you go out you if you want" she adds shyly

"sure" Lisbon said with enthusiasm "I'd love that gonna be just like old times" she said with a huge smile

After this last chat, Cho put the flowers in a vase next to Lisbon's bedside table and they all gave her their goodbye before then went out.

Lisbon didn't khow she had managed to keep her sadness inside while her team visited her. It had been so hard for her to lie to them about Jane, she could still feel the pain. New tears ran down her cheek. But deep down inside she knew they had the right to know that it wasn't fair to let them think their consultant was the bad guy of the story. She would tell them, in due time when she would be able to face the truth herself ; that he was probably mad at her for killing Red John.

xxxxxxx

Jane had lost notion of all time. He was awaken by the sound of the ventilor above his head, circling in an annoying sound. When he finally opened his eyes it took him seconds before accomodating to the luminescence. Jane looked around him, it was so calm and light. Light green walls and white ceilling ; if his guessed was right he was in an hospital.

His hypothesis had been confirmed when he saw the petite dark-haired nurse entered his room.

"Mr. Jane how you doing ?" she asked him with a gentle voice

"never better" he lied "how bad is it ?" he asked with a soft smile

"you were lucky Mr. Jane, the bullet bypassed the coronary vein" she said as she examined the wound on his chest and placed a new bandage

"the bullet" Jane said almost as a question

"yeah you were shot" she said with confusion in her eyes

"I know that" he said

At this very moment, everything came back to him ; his last duel with Red John, the shot and Lisbon killing his nemesis. His fist clenched at the tought.

"how long until I get out ?" Jane asked

"a week at least…you need to rest. The doctor will be seeing you tomorrow see if you're recovery is going well" she said as she was ready to leave but Jane called her

"did anyone visited me while I was asleep ?" Jane asked

"hum…" the nurse said as she checked her paperfiles "a certain miss Lisbon came to see you four days ago she wanted to know how you were doing" she said

A soft smile came to his lips. Teresa Lisbon had visited him and he didn't even knew she was there.

"anyone else ?" he asked

"not that I know of" she replied "but she looked kind of sad tought" the women said with compassion

"sad" Jane said "what for ?" he said swallowing the huge lump in his throat

"I don't know…she just left after she visited you and I could see she had just cried" the women said shyly

Jane couldn't believe his ears, not only Lisbon had visited him but she had left his room crying. It was too much, he needed to see her to tell her it was over, that he wasn't mad at her that he understood why she had killed Red John but most importantly he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, how much he needed her in his life ; his guardian angel.

"I need to see her now" Jane said now panting heavily

"but she's not here anymore" the nurse said getting nervous

"WHAT ?" he asked

"she-she left…" she stuttered but she was interrupted by Jane's panic

"when ?" he said

"I don't know three days ago" she said "but…Mr. Jane you have to stay here you can't go like that" she protested when she saw Jane get up quickly out of his bed

But Jane didn't ear a single word he had to get out of this place asap. He felt weak but he found a strengh inside of him, a slow burning force growing within him like never before. He needed to see Lisbon and talk things through. Of course he would change first. He wasn't sure she would take him seriously with him wearing the hospital jacket. He also knew she was still mad at him for what he had said to her that night, that she still felt the pain of the rejection and that she wasn't ready to forgive him. In order for her to accept his apologies he needed to think of the best words. As he was ruminating of the best way to show her his feelings, a smile came across his lips. He knew exactly what he would do…

xxxxxxx

It had been less than a week since the death of Red John and the CBI was already kept busy with tons of paperwork and reports. Of course Lisbon had to work extra hours, and her recent injuries didn't make the task easy. But fortunately her team was there to help and had watch over her making sure she didn't get exhausted.

As planed, her and the team had went to a little restaurant she liked and had a wonderful time. She didn't remember the last time she had so much fun, maybe before Red John came into their lives but who knows ? Now that he was dead she had a feeling things would finally be back to normal, maybe except for one thing.

"I still can't believe Eyre was Red John" Rigsby said as he was filling paperwork and picking up through the closest box of files next to him

"yeah me neither" Lisbon said

"should we tell Jane ? he has the right to know" Grace asked as she overheard her colleague's conversation

"I will ask for the FBI to inform him" Lisbon said "in the meantime I will ask you to give Jane a break he's been through a lot. He's gonna call me when he's ready to come back" she lied

Lisbon wanted to tell them to truth but she wasn't ready yet maybe she would wait another month, she didn't know. Suddenly she felt the need to clear her head up. So she directly went to the bullpen and prepared herself some coffee. When she drank the hot beverage she let in infused in her mouth, savoring slowly each sip like it was the last one.

xxxxxxx

Jane was hesitant ; he was sweaty and uncomfortable. For the first time in a very long time he was about to do something he knew was foolish but also incredibly exciting. Before he pulled open the door of the CBI bulding, it had seemed like such a good idea. Now that he was there he wasn't so sure anymore.

If Jane had learned anything valuable in the past ten years was that life is short so you might as well settle with the ones you love and avoid to hurt them as much as you can. And that's exactly what he intended to do.

When he passed by the elevator doors of the office, everyone was working silently like usual. Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt where so much caught up in their work that they didn't ear him coming. It's only when he approached inches away from Grace's desk that she looked up at him in shock but Jane put a finger to his mouth as to warn her to not yell and keep quiet.

"Jane, what are you doing here ?" she whispered

"I'll explain to you later" he whispered back "where's Lisbon ?" he asked with a sad smile

"she's in the kitchen" Grace responded

"hey Jane" Wayne said as he finally realized the presence of the mentalist

"shut" Grace hushed him

xxxxxxx

Lisbon closed her eyes at the delight of her coffee but opened them when something caught her attention. She overhear some whispers coming from the bullpen. For a moment she could swear she had recognized Jane's voice but she thought she was probably imaginating. Must be the pills her doctor gave her that makes her ear voices, but then she heard them again. She decided she needed to ear where the sounds were coming from. So she walked out of the kitchen and and went straight to the bullpen.

When she turned the corner of the wall she saw Jane was standing there only a couple meters away from her. At first, she tought she was hallucinating ; she winked her eyes to accommodate to the view. She panicked when she realized it was for real.

"Jane…" she trailed in a soft voice

"Lisbon" he told her with a small grin still not moving a inch

But before she spoke again, Jane was walking towards her with assurance and caught her by surprise when he gently brushed his lips againts hers causing shivers to ran through down her spine. When he pulled back, they staired at each other for what felt like eternity before Lisbon started crying like never before ; tears were freely running down her cheeks and dripping off her white blouse. Jane didn't cry but she could see his eyes wet with tears.

"I'm sorry Teresa, I'm so sorry Teresa for what I did and for what I'm about to do" he told her now tears running free his eyes and looking at her with contemplation

Lisbon's eyes narrowed in confusion. But before she knew it she was pressed againts the wall causing her cup of coffee to splatter on the floor and spreading the hot liquid all over. Jane had cuped Lisbon's cheek with his hands and had looked at her in the eyes-one last time looking for approval- before he kissed her again passionately.

For a moment, time stopped by and Lisbon didn't even dare to breath. She didn't even found the force to stop him. Jane was kissing her languorously humecting every inch of her lips and pressing his body against her while his hand griped a lock of her hair.

When he finally broke contact, she looked at him cheeks flushed and hair discheveled not sure if she should replicate. After all their were still in the CBI headquarters ? And over all she was still mad at him. But when she stared in his eyes and saw it, the flicker of tenderness mixed with sorrow and most importantly the love he had for her, doubts had completely ran away. Now she had deepened the kiss and had allowed herself to ran both hands in Jane's blonde curls causing both of them to moan at the delicate contact.

The gestures were so intimate that they hadn't realized the team was looking at them in shock.

"hum hum…" Rigsby said "boss I need your signature for a paperform if you have time" he started tring his best not to laugh

When Lisbon heard her co-worker's voice she immediately pulled Jane's back as a reflex and looked at the three agents in awe. Jane was smiling a like a fook. Of course what did she expect of him ? He would sure enjoy himself enormously.

"how long have you been there ?" Lisbon quickly asked

"huh let's say…" Rigsby said trying to stay serious "we just arrived" he said scared that he might get scold

Grace's hit in the ribs also helped him to keep his mouth shut. In fact, they had almost witnessed the whole scene in silence. But they knew admitting it would assure them a fair vengence from Lisbon's side.

"go back to work" Lisbon said regaining control "here Rigsby let me sign your form" she said as he handed the file over to her

"thanks boss" he told her before he quickly left

Lisbon took a deep breath and looked into Jane's eyes who was staring at her with admiration. For the first time in ten years, she could see the peace in his eyes and he could see her happiness. In fact, it was needless for both of them to speak to say something that could only make it worse. So instead, Jane caught Lisbon's hand one more time and pressed her palm three times before he joigned their fingers together. At first, Lisbon didn't immediately understood the gesture but Jane's whisper in her ear helped her with it : it was a secret code for _I love you_.

_Author's note : tadam it was the last chapter ! I know it was a little messy but I hope you all liked it ;)) Sorry I couldn't resist the fluffy end between Jane/Lisbon even through all of my other chapters were all every angsty ; I still tried to keep it dramatic as much as I could xD _

_For some of you who still have questions about some of the subplot of the stories I will probably do a short epilogue that clears some of the questions you probably have like : what happened with Red John ? How did Jane knew where Lisbon was when he rescued her ? How did her knew she was in room number three ? Did Jane was a friend of agent Eyre or it was a scam ? Why Jane never told Lisbon about his plan ? Before I write this epiloge feel free to ask for some other clarifications that I could include in it, I'm always opened up to propositions ;) thanks for reading and don't forget to comment it's awsome when you all do that xDD_


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